Motives
by Noisca
Summary: And as he turns up in her car 2 AM at night asking for forgiveness, Bonnie understands she's doomed.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize from The Vampire Diaries

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Bonnie could hear the spirits flow hectically around her. Their high-pitched shrieks and their violent hisses echoed between the thin wooden walls around her, making the noise even more ear-splitting.

_**The Bennett-line have been blemished!**_

_**A descendant has been turned!**_

Bonnie ignored their cries stubbornly and continued to calmly search through the moldy cupboards, occasionally lightening the candles one of her ancestors vindictively blew out to provoke her. She grimaced at the amount of dust everything was covered in and looked down at her pair of jeans regretfully. It'd be them who would come to pay the price for this.

Bonnie knew it was a long-shot to search for lost grimoires in the very house that was built to massacre witches, but heaven knows she had went after vaguer tracks. She knew the witches back then had carried their spellbooks around everywhere, her grams had told her that much, so it was only natural they'd have them with them as they were captured. Maybe the witches had managed to hide their grimoires somewhere before they were murdered by the witch haunters.

Yeah, that's what I call a long-shot, Bonnie thought and sighed, pulling a dusty hand through her dark hair tiredly. This would be a hell of a night.

Three hours and countless curses later she gave up. She had searched every little cupboard, checked ever drawer and fine-combed every bookcase, without result. The only thing she had found that even resembled a book was an ugly brochure praising safe-sex (Bonnie didn't even want to know). She was tired and dirty and she wanted to go home. _Home_, in her own warm bed with her childish horse sheets, not to Abby's couch with the thick rugs and the too soft pillow. But she knew she'd be driving the three hours to Abby's anyway, since there was something she wouldn't find at home: company. Her dad was on a business trip as usual and even if it was uncomfortable as hell to stay at Abby's with Jamie, it beat being alone.

Jamie was surprisingly easy to be around considering everything. He didn't care that she was crashing on his couch and preventing him from watching TV at night, he didn't even seem to blame her for all the stuff with Abby, which Bonnie knew he had every right to. She knew she should apologize for letting his guardian – and more or less mother – be turned into a vampire, for letting her take a bite of him and for letting her walk out on him, (the last thing was mostly Caroline's fault, but it wouldn't have happened if Bonnie hadn't taken her to Mystic Falls to begin with) but she could never really find the words. It'd only be awkward and frankly Bonnie was afraid it would end with him kicking her out, and Bonnie really didn't want to go home to the quiet house.

She decided to leave, she had enough of this place to last a life time.

Outside everything was strangely serene for being Mystic Falls. Bonnie watched the starry sky and the giant half-moon as she played with her car keys absentmindedly. A lonely owl hooted in a tree nearby and watched her carelessly with piercing yellow eyes; animals had stopped being afraid of her a long while back already. The animals feel the bond you share with nature, her grams had explained once when she had asked about it.

Her blue Toyota Prius stood parked neatly where she had left it and rang familiarly when she unlocked the door. The small lamp in the roof lit up as she took the seat behind the wheel and fastened the seat belt. She put the keys in the keyhole and turned the-

"Hello."

She shrieked instinctively, and if the seat belt hadn't kept her in place she probably would have jolted a few inches into the air. Her heart was racing wildly in her chest, and her pulse was a marathon runner's. In the fading shine of the lamp Bonnie could see the outline of a man sitting in the passenger seat.

With a slightly shaky hand Bonnie quickly lit all of the lamps the car had to offer. As the light in the car increased she could specify the rich dark curls, the sharp features of the face and the extravagant suit. It was Elijah Mikaelson who was sitting in her car, observing her with mild humor and his head crooked.

Bonnie swallowed thickly and felt the fear in her grow into a life-threatening panic that only could be evoked when you were trapped in a car with a ruthless original that locked your best friend in a cave with his homicidal sister as turnkey which really was an act he resorted to when he couldn't find you and kill you himself.

"I was informed witches could sense the presence of one of my kind, but I was obviously wrongly informed." Elijah remarked dryly, eyebrows raised.

Bonnie knew better than to be fooled by his calm and laid back look, she had seen it before, even in the midst of back-stabbing. The first time she met Elijah she had kept her distance, she had quickly understood that the Salvatore brothers were in over their heads, and most likely insane, involving yet another original into the mess. The smooth talking, the noble morals and the diplomatic manners; Bonnie didn't buy a shit. He had a glint in his eyes that told her about all of his lies, all of his brutal murders and all of his exploitations, and that was all she needed to know. The conclusive betrayal during the sacrifice hadn't caught her off guard even once, he was an original and it was what they did, they back-stabbed and manipulated their way to everything they wanted and threw away it when they found something better.

Elijah inspected her closely, making her feel as if she was still under the watch of the owl. "Except for your little shriek you're prodigiously quiet, Miss Bennett. Should I be concerned of your well-being?"

"How did you get in here?" Bonnie choked, ignoring his question entirely. She was positive she had locked the car, she always double checked when it came to her car, it was the most expensive thing she owned.

The corners of his lips tipped upward, a little arrogantly. "I am an original. If I want to get into a vehicle, I will."

Bonnie straightened up in her seat tensely, moving her hand slowly towards the buckle in which her belt was fastened. If there was to be a fight she'd do better if she were able to move. "And _**why**_ would you want to get into my car?"

He smiled, leaning his head towards her, as if to share a secret. His brown eyes bore into hers, taking in every little detail. "Amnesty."

Bonnie's hand stopped and her eyes darted up to meet his. She held his gaze, taking in the devout expression and the brown eyes doubtfully. "No." She opposed firmly, averting her eyes from his.

The Mikaelson withdrew slowly, eyebrow raised in question. "Excuse me. I'm afraid I don't quite understand."

She looked up at him coldly. "You're not here to seek forgiveness."

"I'm not?" he asked, smiling in amusement.

"No." Bonnie repeated with narrowed eyes. "Your kind doesn't do that. It'd mean you'd actually have to _feel _something."

Her words hung between them frostily and for a split second Bonnie was sure the original would kill her. His ever diplomatic facade dropped and he ran his tongue along his front teeth manifestly, his implication clear. He had no trouble killing cheeky witches that insulted him. Bonnie felt how her heart accelerated once again and her how her bravado hastily slipped away. She wasn't ready to die, there were still so much she wanted to do. She was going to meet a guy that saw _her_ not Elena or Caroline, she was going to get married (on a sunny Sunday in June) and she was going to have kids that she would never leave behind. Not once and definitely not twice.

She really didn't want to die. She loved her life, she loved her friends. She felt her heart ache as she thought about her friends that she probably never see again; Elena with her doe-like eyes, Caroline with her childish innocence, Matt with his friendly smile. Hell, she would even miss the Salvatores, even if Stefan was a complete ass right now and Damon was an incorrigible douche bag.

She felt the tears sting in her eyes and she hurriedly blinked them away. She'd be damned if the original would see her cry. If she were to die at seventeen she'd at least do it with dignity.

But then he chuckled and she was thoroughly surprised. He chuckled amused and if it wasn't for the almost invisible look of wrath in his eyes, Bonnie'd have believed that it had all been an act.

"Well, what, If I may ask, do you think I am here for then, Miss Bennett? Since you seem to know my intentions so well."

"To kill me." And she believed it.

For a moment he watched her, head cocked to the side as if considering her words, until a small flicker of amusement finally showed in his face. "Am I mistaken, or was that an invitation for me to kill you?"

"Like you need an invitation." Bonnie spat.

Elijah was unmoved. "True. But why would I want to kill you?"

"I don't know. Trapped any of my best friends in caves lately?"

He smirked at her cutting edge, but his eyes shone of sincerity. "I can assure you, you and your friends have nothing to fear from me. My intentions here in Mystic Falls are perfectly honorable." Bonnie's eyes narrowed.

"Funny. Wasn't that what you said last time too?" She asked acidly.

His stance revived its gravity, and once again his mask was up, making no emotions visible in his face. "You can't have been properly informed if you blame me for my actions as of late."

"Oh, I have been properly informed." Bonnie hissed. "You threatened to kill Elena if Damon and Stefan didn't kill me."

"It was nothing personal, Miss Bennett. I was simply looking out for my family. I thought you of all people would understand that." He stated calmly, his mask revealing nothing.

Bonnie stared at him incredulously. "You told my friends to _kill _me, you _ensured_ my mother's death. How the hell was I supposed to understand?"

"I ensured nothing. Your mother's turning was entirely the Salvatores' doing." Elijah declared firmly.

"They would have done nothing if it wasn't for you and your daemonic family." Elijah's eyes narrowed for the first time that night, and Bonnie noticed in the corner of her eyes how his fingers bore into the seat.

His voice was silky, dangerous, when her uttered, "Correction. They Salvatore brothers would have done nothing if you actually were of the smallest significance."

Bonnie froze, his words echoing in her head. Elijah watched her with malicious pleasure, _an eye for an eye _couldn't have been clearer if he so had said it.

She said nothing, eyes now rapidly filling with immense anger as his arrogant words sank in. Who the hell was he to judge her worth? She had more power in her than all of her ancestors combined, and she was significant, goddammit! Whoever doubted this, ancient supernatural or not, could gladly go fuck themselves.

Her eyes slitted and she gritted, "Get out."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me. You're hardly in any position to-"

Before allowing him to finish, she triggered the aneurism she had been building up all since he had appeared in her car. She concentrated furiously all her powers on splitting the blood vessels in his head and smiled in triumph as the vampire leaned forward in pain, hands clutching his head desperately. "I said, _get out_." She spat.

"You're digging your own grave, witch." Elijah hissed, face distorted in agony and his eyes barely meeting hers.

"You were going to kill me anyway." She cawed out, fighting to keep the spell up. Her powers already screaming in exhaustion of affecting an original. She grimaced disgruntled, she'd be able to keep this up two minutes tops.

"Don't you listen?" He growled, his breaths rugged. "I'm not here to end you. Now, cease your torture before I change my mind."

Bonnie eyed him distrustfully, pain booming in her head with fierce intensity. And as the first drop of blood fell from her nose, she let go of the assault on the vampire's head, more out of fatigue than anything. She slumped back against the seat, trying to catch her breath while watching the unmoving vampire suspiciously in the corner of her eyes.

She narrowed her eyes, panting heavily. "Close the door carefully when you lea-"

The next moment she was pinned by the neck into the seat behind her, his rough fingers clasping her neck harshly. The first thing she noticed was that he was much too close – his wrathful eyes were merely inches from hers – but then the unpleasant pressure around her neck registered in her brain, and she struggled desperately in his grip not being able to get any air.

"I can't help but to notice that there seems to be some confusion here regarding status." Elijah murmured slowly, murderously. "Well, please allow me to set you straight. You're a _human_; a small, very fragile creature whose existence can be ended with a mere snap, so I'd think _wisely_ before deciding to cross me. You cannot kill me."

And with that final warning he was gone, every trace of his presence vanished with him except for her whacked nerves. Bonnie sat pressed against the soft seats long after his presence had disappeared into the forest, hardly daring to breathe. She put a shaky hand to her forehead and massaged her temples. She didn't have the strength for yet another original, especially if this one would break into her car randomly. She didn't know what the backstabbing vampire wanted from her, but Bonnie was sure he'd be back to share his motives. His kind always had a motive.

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Rather short, I know. But... Love it? Hate it? Having daydreams about stabbing me with a pencil? Let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow... You guys pretty much left me speechless with all of your reviews, favorites and alerts... Me _**very**_ happy. I know I haven't even answered half of your reviews, and I'm really sorry. I appreciate them more than I appreciate chocolate (coughliecough) but I'm simply lazy that way. I will _try _to mend my horrible ways. For you.

Disclaimer: Don't own Vampire Diaries or anything related to it. Neither do I own Rozerem.

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Bonnie was pretty sure her greatest achievement ever – including **every **spell she had ever done – was resisting the urge to cut class, and getting up four hours in advance to make it to school in time. Her head was hammering wildly and her muscles didn't seem to want to cooperate, everything falling out of her hands with a bang. Jamie actually emerged from his room as she dropped the frying pan in the floor for the second time, telling her semi-jokingly he'd cut her neck if she didn't quiet down. He warmed up as he got a pancake, though.

"You look like shit." He commented, still chewing. He eyed her brushwood to hair, the dark circles under her eyes and her wrinkly t-shirt, grinning at the dirty look he got in response.

"Well, I feel like shit." Bonnie sighed, putting her face in her hands tiredly. She had no appetite and the pancake she had forced down was rolling unpleasantly in her stomach. Not to mention her eyes who were persisting to shut whenever she didn't force them to stay open.

Jamie swallowed before he said, "You got home pretty late, didn't you? I figured you had went back to Mystic Falls when your car wasn't back by twelve."

Bonnie played with her fingers awkwardly. "Look, if this makes you uncomfortable I can leave, it's-"

"No, it's not that!" Jamie assured. "I just... You can stay as long as you want, Bonnie." He finished lamely, both of them avoiding making eye contact. Bonnie could hear the word _awkward _echo between them.

Bonnie gave him a strained smile, while he still looked down on his plate embarrassingly. "Right... er.. Thanks." Jamie muttered something along the lines of 'no problem'.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for awhile, before Bonnie rose with a sigh. "I better go if I want to make it in time. Sorry for waking you so early, I hope I didn't ruin your day _too _much." She teased.

Jamie looked up with a small grin, his cheeks still a little red she noticed. "Nah, it's fine. Got some schoolwork to catch up on anyway. Thanks for the food, best thing I've had in a while."

Bonnie blushed slightly, not really sure why. With a small 'bye' and a quick smile, she was out the door. She squinted as the bright sunlight hit her as she stepped out on the porch. The sun heated up the small garden gently, making the flowers turn towards it and revel in its warmth contently. A gray cat (Bonnie wondered if it was Abby's) lounged in the shadows a rose bush and swayed its tail in annoyance at some small birds that was teasing it. A pair of less foolhardy birds were chirping lightheartedly in the maple outside the fence of the house. Bonnie smiled slightly as she opened the door to her car, it was spring.

Everything changed as she crossed the state border, Bonnie realized. The lull she had settled in, the anesthesia the beautiful weather had put her mind into; was dismissed as soon as she crossed the line. Her shoulders went up several inches and she was constantly and anxiously checking her driving mirrors. It was more than three hours left before she'd arrive in Mystic Falls and she was already in suspense. She imagined cars following her, people's glances lingering a little too long on her license plate and the seat beside her being occupied by lean, stoic creatures.

Bonnie's grip on the wheel hardened to the point of her knuckles turning white. The drive to Abby's house earlier that night had been one from the deepest pits of hell. The place where Elijah's hands had been pressed against her throat had ached with a burning intensity and the memory of his cold, dark eyes had pushed her nervous system to the border of a breakdown.

She hated the capacity the original had on her. She hated how his in no way empty threats got to her so easily, hated how he without serious effort could throw her in a spiral of never-ending anxiety. She was supposed to be strong, dammit! She was the most powerful witch to ever walk this earth, and he was just another vampire stalking her every move, hardly no more intimidating than his psycho to half-brother. If she could tackle Klaus with all his manipulative and sadistic ways she should be able to handle Elijah without further strain. Right?

She let her lack of sleep be the excuse. Seven hours of sleep in three days were more than capable of screwing her mind up and to leave her this weak and unstable. She promised herself not to make any more nightly visits to bewitched houses and instead buy some pills against insomnia, no matter how embarrassing that seemed. She'd get back to her own self in no time, she reassured herself. She wouldn't accept anything else.

The clock showed thirteen minutes past seven as she pulled in at Mystic Falls High School parking lot. She noticed Caroline's silver Dodge Charger being parked beside Elena's black Ford Escape on the other side of the parking lot. She wondered if they had been present in school every day the last couple of months and felt a little guilty, she really should put in a little effort. Her dad would be home in time for the midterm reports and it'd be nothing short of a miracle if she'd make it without a single F. Even if she showed up for school for the rest of the month she had no idea what they were covering or what she had missed.

She hesitated somewhat as she watched the schoolyard that was filled with carefree students talking in small groups all over, her car's engine still humming. She could still pull out and leave. What was the point in attending if she had no chance of making it anyway? She sighed angrily and snatched the key out of the keyhole, if she had risen four hours earlier than any human ever should just to make it to school she'd **goddammit **pull through too.

She locked the car behind her with a small beep and strode determinedly towards the entrance, greeting a absentminded Matt with a tight smile. The deadly drama around them had taken its toll on him too, she noted. He had visible bags under his eyes and his hair had probably not seen a comb in quite a while. He started when he noticed her waving at him though and gave her a half-smile in return.

She tried not to shiver as she followed the stream of students into the school, did she look that horrible too? God, she hoped not. She veered quickly and nearly knocked into a freshman, hurrying towards the bathrooms and shouting a hasty apology over her shoulder. The boy only glared back at her.

She opened the doors to the women's restroom and immediately regretted it. In front of the mirrors stood Rebekah, currently wiping away a smudge of mascara with a scowl. Bonnie wanted desperately to bang her head against the wall, she really didn't need the vampire queen bee and all her attention issues today. Rebekah's catlike eyes swept over to her intruder's irritatedly, her stance instantaneously gaining a bit of posture as she recognized her. Bonnie felt a sprinkle of pride, at least they had enough sense to respect her.

Rebekah turned around with a cold, patronizing smile. "Hello Bonnie. I see you've gone for the natural look. Very flattering." Rebekah said loftily, taking in her appearance with a sneer. Bonnie's eyes narrowed icily.

"Not everyone needs a ton of makeup to look somewhat decent." Bonnie snapped. She saw how a vindictive gleam flashed in the vampire's eyes at being called _decent_ and for a moment Bonnie wondered if she'd sink her fangs in her neck but Rebekah merely flipped her blonde hair back with a snap, glaring at her sourly.

"Careful, Bonnie. Nik may want you alive and kicking, but I have no need for your witch brews. I'd hate to endure another telling-off if some of your precious blood happened to be shed."

And with a last icy smile she walked out the door, leaving behind a faint scent of lavender. Bonnie scowled, that was the second time she had been threatened by an original today. She considered sending the vain bitch a small aneurysm for good measure, but decided against it. Instead she faced the mirror in the restroom frustrated and cringed. She was definitely out of her senses when she decided to walk out of the house this morning. Her hair had seemingly taken inspiration of the rose bush outside of Abby's house, the blueish circles around her eyes had grown bigger and her skin was unhealthily pale. She dug in her purse desperately after her concealer, smiling in triumph as her hands surrounded the round container. She grabbed an old brush from the very bottom of her purse (ignoring the hygienic factors it concerned) and applied the cream under her eyes carefully. She backed away from the mirror, satisfied with the result. Now she could pass for a an actual human being.

She gathered the makeup in her bag sloppily before she exited the bathroom and headed for her locker. She stopped as she noticed Elena and Caroline whispering unsubdued by her locker while Stefan leaned against her locker, wearing the unmoved expression he had taken to lately. Her grip on the strap of her bag hardened, even though she had forgiven Elena a long time ago she hadn't dealt with the Salvatores yet. Mostly because she hadn't decided how she should deal with them. Part of her wanted to make them pay with countless aneurysms and several other damaging spells she hadn't even dared to try yet, but another part of her understood that they did what they had to to save Elena, that Elena came first. But that didn't mean it hurt any less to know that Abby would be here with her in Mystic Falls if it wasn't for the Salvatore brothers.

Stefan straightened himself up slowly and vigilantly as he noticed her standing in the middle of the corridor staring at them, making Caroline and Elena cease their silent discussion surprised and turn around to see what he was staring at.

"Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed stunned, a small smile growing on her face. Caroline only squealed and flung herself at Bonnie excitedly, which would probably give Bonnie some bruises because **damn **it hurt. Caroline quickly withdrew at her groan and looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry. Just so happy to see you! You need to stop disappearing from the earth like that!" Bonnie couldn't help but to smile as Caroline chirped, her smiles were contagious.

Elena stood behind Caroline with a worried look, putting a strand of her brown hair behind her ear uncertainly. "How are you feeling?"

And that was why Bonnie never could blame Elena for anything; Elena was infallibly good. She was the most popular girl in school, she was a star student and she had heaven knows how many boys chasing after her, but she still was the same girl that in second grade sat with her on the pool edge and talked with her the whole gym class, refusing to swim since Bonnie couldn't. She was her best friend, and best friends didn't blame each other for things none of them could control.

"I'm fine." Bonnie smiled genuinely at her best friend's constant worrying. "Just a little tired." She added as Elena looked her over with a critical eye. Bonnie threw a furtive glance over Elena's shoulder, Stefan had vanished into thin air. Chicken, Bonnie scoffed.

Elena caught Bonnie's scowl and turned around, facing her again with a sigh. "He just doesn't know how to face you after everything that's happened."

Bonnie chose not to answer and asked instead, "How's Alaric? Is the herbs working?"

Elena's forehead creased anxiously and she shrugged. "He won't let me talk to him. Says he's too dangerous. Damon says he's doing... fine though."

"Meaning he hasn't transformed into some bloodthirsty psychopath lately." Caroline interposed, her blonde curls bouncing.

"The herbs should protect him from... the side effects." Bonnie finished lamely, not really sure how she should put the murderous alter ego her unfortunate history teacher was stuck with. Elena nodded with her eyes on the floor and looked so sad Bonnie felt like hugging her.

The stood in silence for a while before Caroline jerked. "God, we're worse than those emo kids that hangs around under the staircase!" She cried and bounced up and down a couple of times, pointing two fingers at Bonnie and Elena with narrowed eyes. "**Now** we're going to go to trig, we're going to groan, sigh and whine because we understand shit. **But **when class's over, we're going to go to the cafeteria and we're going to buy those big splits that no one ever buys because of the ridiculous carbohydrate level, **and** we're going to talk _boys_. Understood? No vampires, no werewolves and definitely no temporary disordered history teachers. _Boys_. The clueless, y-chromosome filled mystery that has yet to be solved."

Bonnie and Elena stared dumbfounded at their flustered friend before they broke out laughing, making Caroline huff in annoyance. "What?"

"'The clueless, y-chromosome filled mystery'?" Bonnie snorted between bursts of laughter, causing both her and Elena to laugh harder. Caroline only grinned victoriously.

"Well it got you two smiling, didn't it?"

Bonnie smiled broadly and realized, as Caroline flung her arms around the shoulders of her two best friends, that this was as close to normal they had come in months.

* * *

"Well, what about that guy? He's cute."

"Care, you're pointing at Aaron Chapman. He's the one that brought his baby sister's pet bunnies to school last year and sliced their necks in front of the whole school."

Caroline stared at Elena terrified, her spoon with strawberry ice-cream halfway to her mouth. Elena poked her spoon in her own dessert nonchalantly.

Caroline put down her spoon on the table, not caring about the ice-cream melting out of it, and declared seriously: "This town is more fucked up than Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon."

"Amen sister." Bonnie said gloomily, pushing away her ice-cream.

* * *

Bonnie stared at the different names and boxes, already feeling the headache. Ambien, Rozerem... who named these things? She snatched the least colorful packaging from the shelf and started reading the backside, squinting her eyes to be able to see the letters in the dim light. _Rozerem is indicated for the treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep onset. _Bonnie frowned at the small packaging in her hands, not sure if the long words they used were a sign of authentic professionalism or a sign of mock professionalism. Her gaze traveled to the other packs irresolutely, her left eye twitching as her gaze fastened on a packaging with a walrus gracing it. She decided she had the right one.

Bonnie walked between the shelves in the small drugstore, trying not to notice the creepy atmosphere. She was practically the only costumer (she figured the sleeping alcoholic in the corner didn't count) and the female cashier had watched her closely through her pointy glasses from the moment she stepped into the store. An apparent sign that the store wasn't theft-proof.

She put down the packaging on the counter and pulled out her wallet, stopping as she reached for her credit card. "You do take credit cards, don't you?

The woman stared at her with piercing eyes, her glasses sliding down her nose. "Are you sure you want to buy these?" She clearly had no intention of answering her question.

Bonnie stared at her, thrown of guard by her hasty tone. "Excuse me?"

The woman continued to stare at Bonnie with wild eyes, making Bonnie squirm uncomfortably. "These aren't something to be trifled with." The woman waved the pack in the air. "Have you consulted a doctor regarding your problem?"

I can't see how that's any of your concern, Bonnie wanted to snap but instead she said simply, "No."

The woman shook her head in a grieved manner, her earrings of silver jingling slightly. "I've seen teenagers like you walk in here before, honey." Bonnie's eyes twitched. "All of you got trouble sleeping and all of you wear the same depressed look. These aren't going to solve anything." She waved the packaging again. Bonnie had to resist a heavy sigh as she realized what the cashier was getting at.

"I'm not a drug addict." Bonnie said as politely as she could, her teeth clenched.

"That's what they all say."

Bonnie found herself wondering if it was possible to give humans aneurysms too. She glared at the condescending woman in front of her with the old-maidish hairdo and the pointy nose, wishing she had allowed Caroline to tag along anyway. Compulsion would have been useful about right now.

She sighed. "Look, the backside clearly states it's available without a doctor's prescription."

The woman's eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "Well, yes, but I _recommend _you to get one before you buy these." Recommend evidently meaning command.

"Well, that's a bit harsh ma'am, particularly so considering all the girl wants is to buy some medication."

Bonnie's breath hitched in her throat as the silky tones sounded from behind her, the familiar feel of death and destruction surrounding her with an incredible intensity. She felt the dread rushing to her heart with alarming velocity and she cursed her human heart violently as it sped, fully aware that the original could hear every shift in its beat.

The cashier peered over Bonnie's shoulder suspiciously, her eyebrows raising as she indubitably took in the dark suit and the elegant posture. "And who may you be?" Her tone was demanding.

Elijah's low chuckle vibrated in the air and Bonnie cringed. "Ah, humans. Such lack of self-preservation."

The poor woman didn't even have time to open her eyes wide, Elijah had her locked in a smooth compulsion with a mere word; "Stay." The woman's eyes lost it's sparkle of life, her features becoming one of a robot's. Her feet shuffled together beneath her with a small thud and Bonnie was reminded of a documentary she had watched about brainwashed soldiers. Something ferocious sparkled inside of her and she faced the vampire furiously.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped, her voice dripped with venom.

Elijah paid her no mind, merely staring crookedly at the cashier. He opened his mouth and pronounced every syllable clearly as he spoke, his gaze locked with the woman behind the counter. "You are to let her have whatever she desires without any further demur. Understood? You are to _give _her whatever she-"

"Like hell she is!" Bonnie snapped enraged, grabbing the Rozerem pack, throwing a twenty-dollar bill on the counter and rushing out of the door angrily. Elijah ran her down as she was half-way to her car, putting himself in her way with a casual look on his face. Bonnie nearly collided with his iron frame but she managed to take a step back in the last second.

"Get out of my way." Bonnie hissed, trying to get past him only to have him moving in front of her each time. She glared at him frustratingly.

Elijah raised a fine eyebrow at her. "How can I possibly have enraged you? I was under the impression I was helping you." As usual there was no emotion visible on his voice, nor his face. Bonnie wondered if it was what she hated about him the most, the fact that he so rarely even showed an ounce of feeling. To her lack of emotion was unnatural, evil and it crept her out like nothing else.

She took a step back. "I don't need your help."

Elijah tilted his head, watching her for a long while before finally saying: "Then consider it penance for my sins."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes dangerously, remembering his words from earlier that day. _Amnesty_, he had deemed. He really thought low of her if he thought she'd fall for a lie that outrageous. She almost wanted to throw her head back and laugh, the bare notion of someone like him even feeling anything remotely like regret was ludicrous. Yet he watched her with such a look as if regret was everything he ever felt, like it was in his middle name. Her gaze hardened, she'd be **damned** if she was to fall for his manipulation.

"Would you just leave me alone?" She spat, shoving him hard in the chest and actually getting through him. She walked rapidly towards her car, noticing with relief two girls in her age smoking outside a restaurant not too far away. He wouldn't be able to do anything too bloody to her with the possibility of him being exposed.

Elijah had apparently noticed them too, as he soon was walking beside her with long strides instead of suddenly appearing in front of her as usual. But acting human didn't stop him from placing a hand on the door of her car resolutely and effectively shutting of her only way of escape.

"You're capable of holding a grudge, aren't you Miss Bennett?" He asked dryly, his eyes burning into hers. She locked her eyes with his – green clashing with brown – and opened her mouth, being careful to put emphasis on every word.

"Leave me alone, or I swear I'll take you down."

His eyes were a dizzying, fathomless abyss. "I assure you Miss Bennett, I'm solely trying to liberate myself from my shame."

Bonnie stood her ground, keeping her eyes on him vigilantly. She found herself thinking how they surely looked like a flirting couple from the perspective of the two girls by the restaurant, he leaning over her intimately and she never allowing her eyes to depart from his. She withdrew a little bit with a shiver.

"And if I choose to forgive you right here right now, will you leave me alone?"

The corners of his mouth tilted upward, amusement flickering his features. "Are you really that keen on getting rid of me that you would forge your indulgence?"

"Yes." She deadpanned.

His mouth formed a wry smile. "I'm afraid the workings of my conscience is a little more complex than that." Bonnie succeed in not scoffing at the mention of his conscience.

"So instead you're just going to show up every time I visit a drug store and compel the owner to not charge me?" She retorted, not caring to hide the frustration in her voice.

"If that's what it takes to receive your forgiveness, then yes."

She forced herself to swallow the nasty curses that threatened to get out, reminding herself that she was above that. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her actually riled up by him.

"Forgiveness can't be received." Elijah raised an eyebrow at the amount of poison in her words. "It's earned."

He stayed silent, taking in her words with a look of reluctant captivation. He was still towering over her in an almost informal manner, and Bonnie acknowledged for the first time how small she was comparing to him. He made her feel like a mouse meeting a lion. She snorted irately, she was no effing _mouse_.

Elijah broke her train of thought, stating simply, "Then I will rightfully earn your forgiveness, Miss Bennett."

His words were confident, crossing the edge of arrogant. He withdrew from his bent position and finally let go of the car door, opening it for her grandly. She kept her eyes on him watchfully, snapping spitefully: "Good luck."

Elijah only nodded for her to get into the car, still holding the door open for her.

She stayed stubbornly where she was.

He stepped away from the door, ducking his head and hiding his amused smile rather poorly. Bonnie clenched her teeth and moved swiftly into her car, her eyes watching him vigilantly. He stayed where he was as she with slightly shaky hand started her car and pulled out of the parking lot. When she noticed he was still watching her with the same unaffected eyes when she took a final look in the rear-view mirrors, she had a distinct feeling she might just be screwed.

* * *

Look at me writing a seven-pages long chapter. I think the word count is about twice the amount of the last one. Good grief. Somehow this chapter still bugs me to the deepest pits of my cold cold heart...

Random side note: Have any of you participated in the PISA evaluations this week? I have. I have a distinct, very strange feeling of being an embarrassment to my country. Hmm...


	3. Chapter 3

Reason for my slight absence? I'm taking time to write where there is none. Sad truth. Love your feedback though! I'm happier than Rebecca Black on a Friday.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize as the Vampire Diaries.

* * *

The nights were the worst. The nightmares would awaken her around two o'clock, leaving her panting and terrified for minutes, but never really remembering what she had dreamed. She'd slump back into the mattresses, more knowing she was tired than actually feeling it. Then she'd get trapped in a never ending circle of forcefully shutting her eyes and frantically opening them seconds later due to the smallest sound. In the end she'd lay in her bed completely immobile and stare at the step-like pattern the white-painted broads made in the ceiling.

One hour or so later she'd usually find herself downstairs in front of the TV watching a _Family Guy _marathon or some reruns of some canceled hospital show. She'd turn the TV off as soon as she actually had learned the names of every badly portrayed characters, and instead heading for the kitchen to make herself some tea. She hated tea, it tasted like wood to her, but she imagined it calmed her down. She'd sit by the table alone in only her bathrobe until dawn, sipping the cold beverage occasionally.

This night however the TV remote remained untouched and instead Bonnie found herself sitting on the swings in Mystic Fall kindergarten's playground, freezing her ass off in the chilly air. She knew it would probably seem like she had lost it when the childminders later checked the CCTV cameras and that they would possibly even report it to the police, but she didn't really care. Of some reason beyond her the playground had been the first place that came to mind when she had left her lawn, and now she actually liked sitting here.

The swings squealed piercingly as Bonnie swayed gently, all the while taking in the familiar surroundings around her. The jungle gym was still the center of the playground with its high, wooden towers and its many passages. The jungle gym had always harbored the best hiding places when they played hide and seek. The swings were located slightly to the left of the jungle gym, a thick layer of sand covering the ground beneath them. Farthest away from the swings and the jungle gym, slightly on the edge of the whole playground, stood the slide.

She watched the old slide with the animal stickers on it and remembered swiftly how she and Caroline used to fight over whose turn it was to slide first. Caroline, being the princess she truly believed she was back then, would bawl and stomp her feet until the childminders finally caved in and explained in a hopeless manner how it was Caroline's turn to slide first this time (again). Bonnie'd put on her most sullen expression and go to poke in the sandbox with a stick moodily until Caroline would guiltily approach her and tell her they could slide _together_ if she wanted. Bonnie always did.

On their last day, the childminders had given all the children a sticker each and told them to write their names on them. The stickers were meant to be glued onto a place in the playground that was _their _special place. Bonnie and Caroline had placed their stickers on the very top of the slide. It had been a grand ceremony, Caroline movingly declaring how the slide now always and forever would remember them as the queens of the slide and Bonnie nodding devoutly and inserting small comments like: _absolutely _and _forever and ever_.

Bonnie abandoned the swing quietly and neared the slide ridiculously carefully. The slide was now filled with all kinds of animal stickers with various names gracing them, but Bonnie payed them no mind as she tiptoed to reach to the top of the slide. A broad smile filled her face as she spotted the two ladybirds in the cluster of lions and butterflies.

The color had faded and the clumsy letters were blurred, but the two stickers were still visible. Bonnie zoomed in on the slightly smaller ladybird and laughed. Her name was a mixture of capital and small letters and the E at the end was facing to the left instead of to the right. Caroline's name on the other hand was written perfectly and it was hard to believe that it actually had been a five-year old that had written that and not a teacher. Bonnie inspected the stickers and tried to erase the silly smile from her face. It was a couple of stickers for god's sake, not the cure for cancer.

"How endearing."

Well, that did it.

Elijah was standing closely behind her and inspected the stickers over her shoulder with amused eyes, him unlike her not needing to stand on his toes to see them. Her body was trapped between him and the slide. Bonnie stayed motionless on her toes and stared right ahead on the stickers without really seeing them. All she could concentrate on was the mere inches that constituted all the space there was between them. He was much too close for her liking.

"Isn't it funny how the value of something as trivial as a gummed label can be infinite just because of its chronicle?" His tone was idle, almost relaxed. Bonnie inhaled as he leaned closer to move a hand over the ladybird lightly. He traced the outline of her ladybird with lean fingers, momentarily scratching the edge of its wings loose from the plastic surface.

"Don't remove it." She hated how panicky she sounded.

Elijah's hand stopped abruptly moving and he withdrew his hand slowly. "I'd be a monster of the most gruesome kind if I did, Miss Bennett. I, if anyone, know how precious childhood memories can be."

He took a couple of steps away from her and Bonnie let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She pressed the wings firmly back to their original place, desperately trying to get them to stick again, but they were even more stubborn than her. Bonnie frowned. She considered binding the sticker to the plastic with magic but she didn't know of any spell that could do that. She'd just have to return with some glue later and hope the sticker hadn't blown away by then.

Elijah cleared his throat behind her and Bonnie spun around, her eyes narrowed. His eyes were absorbing her amusingly, the amusement no doubt rooted in watching her war with the sticker. Before he could comment any further she asked dryly, "Are you stalking me?"

A bemused chuckle left his lips and he looked down on the ground briefly. "I can ensure you I'm not. It's merely a coincidence that I happened to stumble upon you here tonight."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I don't believe in coincidences."

He shrugged almost imperceptibly. "Then call it fate."

Bonnie sighed tiredly, pulling her thin jeans jacket closer to her body. She felt her heart's abnormal rhythm in her chest, but if it was because of the vampire's proximity or the fever she most likely was developing by standing out in the cold in only her pyjamas she didn't know. She regretted ever leaving the comfort of her own home, she should have settled for watching family guy even if she had watched the episode before.

The promise to stop killing herself by never sleeping had quickly been broken when she realized the sleeping pills only helped her to fall asleep quicker and that they actually did nothing to her nightmares, which was where the real problem laid. She had contemplated visiting a drugstore in Monroe to see if there was some other medication that promised remedy for nightmares, but she had quickly chickened out when she remembered that it was a slight possibility Elijah would follow her there after their talk outside of the last drugstore she visited. But there didn't seem to be any escaping him anyway.

"What do you honestly want from me, Elijah?" Bonnie asked bluntly, to exhausted to mask the frustration in her voice. "Esther's gone, you're free to do whatever the hell you want and nothing can even _scratch_ your precious family. So why are you still around, playing games?"

Elijah straightened his tie unnecessarily, shaking his head diplomatically. "Rest assured that this is not a game, Miss Bennett. As I said I'm simply trying to make amends."

"What for?" Bonnie snapped. "What could you possibly gain from earning my forgiveness? And don't give me that bullshit about conscience and stuff, since it has been scientifically proved that vampires don't have one."

His tone was the epitome of emotionless. "I'm deeply sorry your latest encounters with vampires haven't been the most delightful," Bonnie scoffed, but Elijah either didn't hear her or he just chose to ignore her. "and I'm well aware I played a big part in those unpleasant encounters, but I'm a man of my word, Miss Bennett, so please believe me when I say I'll make it up to you."

His words echoed in Bonnie's head and something in them brought her back to an evening very long ago, in a universe where their former problems seemed so small compared to the odds they were constantly fighting now. She had been lying on Elena's bed casually while her friend had been drying her wet hair, telling Bonnie all about her deal with Elijah. Bonnie had told her how it was insane, that she should never trust him but her friend hadn't listened. _Elijah won't break his word_,she had said. _He told me so himself_. Bonnie had quietly been deliberating to register her for mental health services.

And just like that Bonnie realized what this was all about. "This is about Elena, isn't it?" She uttered, her tone blank.

It was ridiculous that she hadn't caught on from day one. He was an original, his every move had to revolve around the doppelganger, so it would be nothing short of strange if Elena wasn't the reason he was here in the first place. She was relieved, for a split second she had almost believed that it actually had been about her. But still, the nerve. She hated being used, even more if it was for something she couldn't be used for.

"If this is some scheme to get Elena to forgive you, you can just go and tell her I gave you my blessing. I'm no negotiator." Bonnie said sharply, crossing her arms in her chest.

And all at once he was standing in front of her, looking down on her with commanding eyes. Bonnie took an instinctive step backwards only to find herself stuck between the vampire's impenetrable frame and the iron posts of the slide. _Between a rock and a hard place_, Bonnie thought sardonically. Her mind instantly began to scroll down the list of memorized damaging spells, trying to find the most painful one if things would, as they so often did, get bad.

Elijah's eyes traced over her facial features slowly, taking in everything from her heart-shaped face to her olive green eyes. Bonnie shuddered. His voice was soothing, silky, when he spoke, "Now, why would you think that this is about Elena?"

"Because it is. You want her to forgive you, and you think if you get me to forgive you, she'll forgive you as well." Bonnie said steadily, standing taller.

Elijah tilted his head to the side, continuously gazing at her with burning eyes. "And I suppose it's an impossibility to believe that this is truly about you?"

Bonnie's look hardened and her voice dripped with venom. "And I suppose it's an impossibility for you to stop feeding me crap?"

Elijah chuckled darkly. "You certainly offer dogged resistance, Miss Bennett."

"I don't swallow bullshit." She answered coldly, making sure there were no confusion about her conclusion. She wasn't stupid.

Elijah took yet another step closer, making the space between them nearly nonexistent. Bonnie pressed uncomfortably her back into the iron posts to get as far away from him as possible. Elijah noted the shift in her position with a smirk and leaned even closer to her, their faces less than two inches apart.

His cold breath danced over her skin. "Is the attention I'm giving you bothering you, Miss Bennett?"

Bonnie was going to scoff, she was going to roll her eyes and tell him that _yes, it was bothering her_; but the words got caught in her throat as their noses suddenly touched. She found herself paralyzed under the original's fervent stare, all the magic she had built inside of her flying out the window.

"Or is it perhaps the fact that it's a _man _giving it to you, that's bothering you?" He whispered silkily.

And the magic was back.

In seconds she had him crouching on the ground in pain, torturing him with aneurysm after aneurysm angrily. Her cheeks were burning red with rage and embarrassment. The fact that he had dared to even mention her sex life was enough for her to seriously consider staking him with the iron posts behind her. But that would mean destroying the slide, and he wasn't worth that.

Did he really think that she was _affected_ by him? Did he really think that highly of himself? Bonnie triggered an even more vicious set of aneurysms in his head. She hated him. She hated him and his whole damn family and the day that she'd feel the slightest hint of something that was even remotely similar to attraction for him, was the day she'd gladly take her life.

"Don't you ever come near me again!" Bonnie spat angrily, exploding the blood vessels in his head one last time before she pushed through him and left. She was in need for a lot of tea.

* * *

_Miss Bennett_

_I've realized my behavior the other day was beyond all correction, and I find myself deeply ashamed of my manners. I beg you sincerely to accept these as indemnity, as nothing could make me happier than owning your forgiveness. _

_Yours,  
Elijah Mikaelson _

Bonnie held the fine handwritten note in her hand, staring at the grand bouquet of red roses attached to it. Without further ado she took the note and the bouquet to the backyard, placing them on the ground gently.

Roses burn nicely.

* * *

Am I moving too quickly? And are the conversations even remotely possible? I know it's a short chapter but I couldn't find another place to end it. I would really love to hear your thoughts anyway.

I'm in a slightly depressed mood lately... There's only one episode left before the season ends... not to talk about the CRIME the writers made in the last episode... You all know the one. Sleep tight, my dear British accent. :'(


	4. Chapter 4

You will find in this chapter that I'm quite... **behind on the times **as one particular original once put it. The story up til now has taken place around the space between _Break On Through_ and _The Murder Of One_. And that may have confused some of you. But yeah, we'll be moving forward today. :)

Disclaimer: Still don't own the Vampire Diaries. Nope.

* * *

He had turned up at her door, smirked, threatened and forced her to come with him. _A little favor_, he had said. _Over my dead body_, she had responded. And then his phone was out and he was showing her a picture of her father in a suit, talking business with some of his clients in a restaurant. Her father's stance was relaxed as he leaned towards his clients in a confident manner. He had no notion of the danger he had been in. The deranged sociopath had told her in a low, silky voice just what would happen to the man if she didn't help him out here. _And love? I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy._

She hadn't given him the satisfaction of driving her to his home. She'd rather die than voluntary allowing him in any position of power over her. (She did realize it was kind of hypocritical since he had just kidnapped her from her home.) He hadn't bothered waiting for her, saying pretty offhandedly that she knew what would happen if she wasn't present at his mansion in about, say twenty minutes? She had only glared at him. _Lovely, cheers_. She had been itching to throw something at him.

Her whole body had been shaking as she drove to his residence. She had allowed it to, knowing it'd be no time for freaking out when she arrived. She had seen the museum-like building from afar many times, but as she had approached it, she realized how the distance hadn't done it justice. It was truly grand. But then she had reminded herself of who its residents were, and her wonder had quickly turned into disgust. The lovely appearances were just another scheme, just another scream for attention.

A couple of hybrids had stopped her by the gate, demanding to know what one of _her kind _was doing here. They had clearly not been briefed by their master of her arrival. She had looked at them through narrowed eyes, telling them darkly to let her in. The hybrids had showed their fangs furiously and told her that she was in no place to come in here and order them around. They served Klaus and no one else. They had stalked towards her car menacingly, but just as Bonnie had begun to build the aneurysms in her head, the radio by the gate had crackled. _Let her in, gentlemen_. _She's a guest_. Bonnie had closed her eyes in foreboding and as the gates had closed with a clang behind her, she had never felt more afraid.

Klaus had met her at the steps with a toothy grin. "You have to forgive my negligence, love. It must have slipped my mind." His words had harbored no commiseration.

Bonnie knew it hadn't slipped his mind. He had simply been trying to scare her, trying to show her once again who really was in charge. Bonnie had scoffed. It'd take more than a couple of suicidal hybrids to scare her.

"Shall we?" Klaus had done a sweeping gesture towards the entrance. Bonnie had met his sparkling blue eyes momentarily before looking away. She had never seen more sinister eyes in her whole life. She had climbed the steps calmly and passed Klaus without throwing him a single look.

If she had thought the outside was impressive, it was nothing compared to the inside. This, Bonnie had thought, is probably the closest I'll ever come to a castle. Greek-inspired columns who supported the walls, adorned staircases in marble, expensive paintings that decorated the walls and invaluable antiques that were tastefully put together. Bonnie had taken it all in with an open mouth. It hadn't been before she felt Klaus presence behind her that she had seen that the columns and the staircases were probably never paid for, the paintings were missing from some museum in France and the antiques were most likely stolen. She had closed her mouth in repulsion.

"One of my better creations actually." Klaus had said, coming to stand beside her in what Bonnie had supposed was the hallway. He had looked around the space nonchalantly. "Not quite a fan of the railings, but I suppose they'll do." He had grinned at her expectantly, seeming to almost hope for some kind of compliment. Bonnie would have laughed if she had dared.

Klaus, the almighty, you-will-never-be-able-to-kill-me hybrid, aimed to please. In a sick, twisted and absolutely demented way he wanted to appeal to those around him. Bonnie didn't know what it was – daddy issues? Mommy issues? Both? But credit was obviously something he strove for. Well, he hadn't a snowball's chance in hell of getting any from her, Bonnie had thought furiously.

Klaus' smile had faded quickly as he had realized that she'd not open her mouth. He had sighed with a false tint of gravity to it. "Well, I suppose we better get down to business then." Bonnie had flinched as he had grasped her arm, leading her up the stairs. "My mother is quite the skilled sorceress I've noticed. Her blood-linking spell had my witches fumbling in the dark for a whole afternoon. Obviously they weren't trying very hard, so I convinced them to put in some effort. Some of them couldn't really handle the stress I'm afraid... I think some of them even kicked the bucket." He had thrown a cold smile over his shoulder. Bonnie's grip on her handbag had hardened.

"I have to say I was quite crossed for a moment, I'm not very keen to defeat, you see." He had drawled as he forcefully pulled her past countless of doors and through long corridors. "But then Rebekah reminded me that you know a little something about witchcraft as well."

He had lead her into a large room, as disgustingly beautiful as the rest of them, and stopped to smirk at her. "You'd do a little spell for me, wouldn't you?"

Bonnie had given him her most bone-chilling glare, which he had taken no offense to. "Brilliant."

After that he had showed her Esther's grimoire, once again reminding her of her father's well-being and then with a hasty look at his phone he had left. Bonnie had sunk down on the sofa tiredly. How was she supposed to get herself out of this one? The last thing she wanted was to release Klaus from the only thing that could finally make them get rid of him. But Klaus had already told her twice today what would happen if that spell wasn't carried out, and she had no doubts about him following through. Bonnie had buried her face in her hands, and she had in surprise noticed how they were shaking. She was freaking out, she had realized. She had immediately shrugged it off. She had no time for that.

She had released her handbag on the couch and opened the grimoire concentrated, inspecting the yellow pages. The pages had been filled with ancient scripts and drawings of old magical symbols, some of them familiar ones and others not so much. Bonnie had shuddered at the large number of dark magic spells the book contained. Esther had clearly held a fascination for the forbidden. Bonnie had browsed through the grimoire, trying not to even see the wicked spells that could make humans suffer immensely. Soon enough she had found the spell. The spell had been embellished with several crones. Bonnie knew what crones symbolized, her grams had used to remindher of them countless of times. _Crones represents death, Bonnie. Always be cautious when a spell's surrounded by crones, they're nothing but bad news. _

Bonnie had quivered and allowed her hands to start shaking again.

And without the slightest premonition he had rushed into the room again, demanding to know why she wasn't making any progress. _Honestly, I think someone's not trying very hard_. It had all been a threat. Bonnie had heard what had happened to the last witches who hadn't been trying very hard. Bonnie had tensed. _This is the spell. I'm just not sure if I'm strong enough_. And then had had approached her, wearing a expression of false conviction. _Then you got to have a little more faith in yourself, Bonnie_. But as Klaus had noticed Bonnie not buying any of his I-believe-in-you-crap, he had put his phone to his ear. Bonnie had been sure he had been faking it as he begun to chatter with one of his brothers lightly, right until he had showed her a video of Jeremy playing fetch with a little dog. _Oh, isn't that just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?_

And just like that it had been no doubts about what Bonnie had to do. She'd do it for her father and she'd do it for Jeremy.

She had moved the vase filled with roses from a table nearby, walking across the room to get a couple of candles from a shelf that she put on the table. She had felt Klaus positively reeking satisfaction from where he had been watching her in the doorway. Just to annoy him, she had lightened the candles one by one, knowing he knew she could light them all with one single look. He had grunted in annoyance but commented no further. Bonnie had started as an agonizing scream echoed in the house, jerking around to an amused looking Klaus.

_What was that? _She had asked terrified. Klaus had only smiled casually. _I wouldn't let it bother you, love. _She had not let him get away that easily. _But it does bother me. _A beat. _You bother me. _Klaus had feigned hurt, only fueling Bonnie as she continued. _The way you use people to get what you want. It's not right. _For a moment he had merely stared at her. As he spoke Bonnie had already begun to hope that maybe she had gotten through to him, only just a little. _You're being emotional, Bonnie. I understand that thing's been rough for you. With your mother leaving... again. _

And then she had stopped listening. She had felt stupid for even once believing that she could possibly ever touch something inside that original's heart. He had no heart. She had stood frozen as the original drew closer, a faked compassionate tone gracing his words. But as he had rambled on about her mother, Bonnie hadn't been able to ignore him. _I could bring her back to you. If you want. I have people who can find people, I can bring her back to you. _

For the slightest of seconds Bonnie had actually considered his words. He'd bring her mother back to her, he'd compel her to stay. Yes, Bonnie knew it was wrong, that she'd never truly get her mother back that way. But God, Bonnie missed her. Abby had left her, leaving only a small note behind where she barely even apologized. Bonnie wanted a mother. Yes, Bonnie had stared into Klaus twinkling blue eyes, and for the first time seen the possibilities.

Then he had smiled the most heinous smile. _Or if you choose I could just bring parts of her back._

Instinctively she had raised her hand to slap him, only to have him stopping her in a heartbeat. She had seen red, she had turned her face away from him as he spoke on. She just couldn't stand looking at him. He was a monster in every sense of the word. He had brought her his siblings blood, the red liquids being contained in small bottles that seemed made for their purpose. Destroying her life. And then she had watched in horror as he bit himself with long, pointy teeth, his own blood pouring down from his hand.

_Where do you want us? _Slightly shaken she had taken the first thing her eyes had landed on. A glass. The dripping sound the blood had made as it hit the bottom had wailed in her ears.

The spell had been the most difficult thing she had ever done. The pressure of the magic around her had seemed like it wanted to tear her into tiny pieces. Her temples had throbbed painfully and her eyeballs had seemed to squeeze out of her eye sockets. The burning pain in her whole body had driven her insane. But as fast as the spell had been entered upon it had also been over, and as the spirits around her had disappeared with a hiss Bonnie had known she had succeeded. She had never felt more put out by an achievement before.

She had scarcely been conscious when Klaus had shortly afterward lead her downstairs, too exhausted to care anymore. Rebekah had met them in the hallway, surely saying something vicious like she always did, but Bonnie hadn't heard. The whole world had been one big roar to her. But as Rebekah moved away from them and allowed them to see what she had been hiding behind her, the roaring had stopped.

The first thing she had seen was the blood, how it had been left to dry on his body and how it was making horrifying patterns on the skin. The second thing she had seen was the wounds, they weren't fatal but damn the must have been painful. And the third thing she saw was _him _and with that mixed feelings had risen inside of her. Loyalty, disgust, anger, pity. She hadn't known what to feel or what to act upon. _Oh my God._

_Yeah, you have to excuse the mess. Apparently he hurt her feelings. _Klaus had explained offhandedly, turning to her. At his voice Damon had moved, looking up just a little bit but Bonnie hadn't been sure if he actually could see them or hear them. _Go on. Help him. _Bonnie had looked at him confused. Surely he wouldn't let her. _Save the man who turned your mother into a vampire. _Damon's head had risen just a little bit more, and at that moment Bonnie had known that he did see them. He did see her. His baby blue eyes had pierced through her like knives. But she hadn't seen him. She hadn't seen Damon. She hadn't seen the man who had saved Elena multiple times or even the man who had helped her to find her mother. She had seen the man who tried to kill her all those years ago. She had seen the ruthless killer who snapped her mother's neck while she had been in the other room.

_Just get me out of here_. Damon's head had fallen back to its original position heavily. _Very well_. Klaus had radiated smugness. He had once again gotten his way. He had followed her to the door, his hand ever holding her arm roughly. He had stopped by the door and turned to her with a smirk.

"Well, this was a blast. I have to say I rather appreciate the efficiency our meetings bear."

Bonnie hadn't bothered to answer or to even throw him a glare. The tears had been on the verge of coming pouring down her cheeks, and all she had wanted was to get out of the bloody house and go home and forget this day ever had existed.

Still she had stood immobile on the porch as the doors had closed behind her. For a long while she hadn't moved an inch, just letting all the feelings rush through her at an incredible speed. God, I'm a horrible person, Bonnie had thought with a hysterical sob. She had left Damon to suffer in that hell. It shouldn't matter that he had deserved it, Bonnie Bennett didn't leave people with homicidal vampires. She had dried the tears from her cheeks angrily and searched her handbag for her phone.

Elena had answered almost at once. _Klaus has Damon_. She had said as soon as she had Elena's attention. _Klaus should be dead_. Elena had stuttered worriedly. _They should all be dead, we just killed Finn. _At her words Bonnie had felt the hysteria pour over her like a cold shower. Klaus would have been dead if it wasn't for her. _No Elena, he forced me to do a spell that unlinked all the siblings. He's still alive._ She had never felt more horrible in her whole life as she heard them all sigh hopelessly. It was her fault Klaus wasn't dead. _Okay, Bonnie. Where's Damon? _Elena had asked. Another wave of guilt had poured down over her, she was truly horrible. _At Klaus' mansion. It's bad, Elena. He kept threatening Jeremy and my mom_. Her whole body had been shaking by then and she had barely been able to keep the tears at bay. She was so tired. She wanted to go home. _Are you okay? _Elena's words had echoed in her head. _I don't know_. She had said on the verge of tears. Because that was what Bonnie Bennett said, Bonnie Bennett didn't say that no she wasn't okay, or no she hadn't been okay in a long while. Bonnie Bennett was strong. Bonnie Bennett pulled through.

Only she wasn't strong. She didn't want this, she never did. _I'm sorry I have to go... I just, I have to go._

* * *

Bonnie sank down against her car, her phone still in her hands. Her whole body was trembling and the world seeming to spin around her. The voices, the sounds, the feelings; every damn thing she had gone through that day, came together in that very moment. Klaus' wicked smirk danced before her eyes and his accented voice rang in her ears, taunting her. _Is that all you can take,_ _witch? I have to say I'm quite disappointed_. Pictures of Damon's pained face as he hung in chains flashed in her mind. Visions of the godforsaken rooms had tormented her. They were all enough to pull her over the edge.

Tears streamed down her face and she sobbed hysterically. She had left him. She had left him to be tortured in a house full of hybrids. What the hell had happened to her? When had she become a cruel person? She huddled up against the car, not being able to see through the tears anymore. Was she evil? Was that how people like her ended up? Would she wake up one day and not care about human life anymore? Would she be able to _kill_ people? Bonnie sobbed harder. She wanted sophomore year back. She wanted her grams.

She remembered suddenly when she had come home crying in first grade when the other kids had teased her for having no mom. Sheila had held her close and told her how her mother was very sick and wasn't able to come and visit Bonnie right now, because she could be infected. Bonnie had told her that she didn't care, she wanted her mom to come back anyway. Her grams had just told her that her mother loved her very much and so did she, wasn't that enough? Bonnie hadn't answered.

Now Bonnie wished she had. Sheila had been her real mom. Sheila had never left her, not even when Bonnie had thought she was crazy and wanted her put in a home. Sheila had been there for her every time she needed a mom. Sheila had cared. Abby had left her twice, Abby had never comforted her, Abby had never cared. She wanted Sheila, not Abby.

She hugged herself tightly and rocked from side to side slowly, trying to stop her panicked sobbing. She needed to get out of here. She wanted to go home.

She tried to stand, grabbing the rear-view mirrors as support. Her legs were still shaking wildly, but she forced them to obey. As she stood, she also saw _him_.

And all the hysteria was back.

He was standing a couple of meters away from her, watching her gravely. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his suit and his head was tilted. For a split second all they did was stare at each other. Then she woke up and she pulled the handle of the door violently, realizing after much too long that it was still locked.

Elijah took a hesitant step forward.

"Don't...!" Bonnie exclaimed hysterically, her words getting stuck in her throat. "Don't come near me!"

He stopped instantly. Bonnie met his eyes for a moment, before panic-stricken searching through her bag for her car keys. She looked at regular intervals up frantically to make sure he was still standing at the same place. When her hands finally grasped the keys she unlocked the doors to her car quickly.

"I'm deeply sorry."

Bonnie jerked. Once again her hands started shaking savagely and she felt another panic attack building. She couldn't deal with him now. She swiftly placed herself behind the wheel, slamming the door shut behind her.

When she looked up again, he was gone.

* * *

I can hear you all groaning. Seriously I can.

Yes, it's kind of a recap of _The Murder Of One_, and believe me, no one hates that more than me. But unfortunately it's an important part of the plot (**yes**, I do have a plot) so it had to be written. The first part of the story that was written in past perfect form was sort of meant to be Bonnie remembering what had happened to her through the day.

Yuuup... I think that's all...

Happy 'almost summer holiday'! :)


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter has been a downright hell to write. You guys can't imagine how many times I've rewritten this piece. It's seriously more than five times. Another thing to blame for my slow update is the Klonnie one-shot I wrote maybe a week ago. I was kind of obsessed when I wrote it and wasn't really enable to focus on anything else.

Yep, now I'm done with the excuses. Here goes:

Disclaimer: Don't own anything Vampire Diaries related.

* * *

He was everywhere she went.

He was sitting in the library when she was borrowing books, he was standing behind her in the line when she was buying groceries, he was even sitting in the park when she was out for a run.

She tried her hardest not to notice him, she was done with his confusing confessions and the threatening words in between. She didn't talk to him, even if he took the initiative. In fact, whenever he was around she did her best to make it crystal clear that she was pretending he didn't exist. He'd stand beside her for a couple of minutes, engaging in his one-sided conversation about nothing in particular before he'd finally take the hint and leave.

She had been very satisfied with her course of action, it had worked, until now.

"I get the distinct feeling you're ignoring me."

The smooth, calm voice brought her back with a jerk from the world of ancient Wiccan symbols and old Latin scriptures. She didn't look up – she had vowed herself not to – but she could discern the luster of expensive fabric from the corner of her eye. So she kept her eyes steadily on the scene in front of her (a crowd of teenagers illegally getting drunk by the bar) and did her best to pretend he was air.

A moment later she nearly ignited the table she sat at when she felt his warm breath in her ear. She gripped the table harshly and her eyes fixed on the arm resting on the table, while the rest of him was crouching beside her booth. Her eyes followed vigilantly the absentminded taps his fingers made on the table, trying to distract herself from the warm breaths that toyed with her hair.

"I'm not very keen to being ignored, Miss Bennett. Never have been." His voice wasn't intimidating, it was the epitome of patience and composure, yet his words brought a shudder of fright traveling up her spine. She struggled to hide it, but she was sure he noticed it anyway.

"I'm afraid I tend to take to rather... drastic measures whenever being paid no heed." Bonnie stiffened, wondering about these measures he was implying. Would he go after her friends? She didn't think so, somehow she believed the respect he had for Elena prevented him from doing that. But she knew he had no problem with killing per se, he could easily kill whomever of her classmates in the Grill tonight. But she also knew Matt spiked every drink with vervain these days, so every gulp of their blood would hurt him as much as them.

With that she had made up her mind, she'd stick to her plan.

He stayed quiet for a while before he clicked his tongue resolutely and stood. "Very well. Until later, Miss Bennett." She kept her eyes straight forward as she heard him stride towards the door, letting out a breath that seemed to have been kept in forever. The promise of there being a later bothered her, but for the moment she let herself be relieved.

"Hey, Bonnie. Are you alright?" She looked up and caught Matt looking at her concerned. He held a tray with dirty dishes in one hand and a wet swab in the other. She was one again reminded of how admirably normal Matt's life was. He spiked his custumers' drinks with vervain, he fought vampires and he maybe even was a medium; but he also had a job, acceptable grades and high chances of getting a football scholarship at the end of the year.

She would give a lot for that normalcy.

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He inspected her carefully, not really believing her. "Are you sure? I mean, that was Elijah, right?"

"Yeah it was, but I'm fine, Matt. Really." Bonnie assured him. "He didn't actually do anything." Besides pushing her nerves to the limit of a breakdown.

He seemed to decide to believe her, throwing a glance towards the door the original had exited only seconds ago. "What was it about anyway? I thought he had left town along with that other psycho brother of his."

Bonnie realized she never had told anyone about Elijah. She realized she never even had _thought_ about telling anyone about Elijah. She realized she didn't want anyone to know about Elijah. The revelation scared her, why hadn't she told anyone?

Somewhere in the back of her mind Bonnie actually knew why. Somehow, of some strange, totally unacceptable reason, she considered her disputes with Elijah something that only she should know about. Something that only concerned her. Completely unacceptable.

"I don't know really." Bonnie finally answered lamely, her mind spinning in circles. "Maybe he has returned to assist Klaus or something. I don't know."

Matt nodded absentmindedly, looking at the clock hanging above the bar a little stressed. "I have to go. Be careful Bonnie. Whatever it is he wants, I don't think he'll give up until he gets it."

Then he left Bonnie at the booth, not noticing the way she put her head heavily and kind of hopelessly in her hands.

* * *

Matt was right.

The second Bonnie slammed the door to her car shut a couple of days later, she knew something was terribly off. The hair in her neck raised instinctively and something in her mind went on high alert. She inspected her surroundings carefully but found nothing that indicated that something was wrong. The windows were unbroken, no flowers were trampled down and when Bonnie put the key into the keyhole the lock worked normally.

When she got inside, the strong feeling of something _wrong_ and _dead_ rushed over her violently. Vampire. Bonnie stiffened and she felt her heartbeat speed away, she sure as hell wasn't expecting any supernatural beings. She heard clinking sounds from the kitchen and froze. Her head snatched towards the illuminated room at the end of the hallway, and she quickly prepared a malicious set of aneurysms in her head as she quietly approached the doorway.

She wasn't sure what she expected; maybe Damon with his cheeky smirk, or – if she was lucky – maybe Caroline with her beaming smile, but she sure as hell didn't expect _him_.

She was met by Elijah sipping a steaming cup of coffee, calmly browsing through Mystic Falls Daily at her dining table as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She stood frozen in the doorway, feeling the strong urge to vomit. It was a nightmare, it had to be. A horrible, horrible nightmare. She closed her eyes momentarily, listening to her ragged breathing and her pounding heart. When she opened her eyes again he was looking at her with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

It hit her with a jarring blow that this was what he had meant with taking to 'drastic measures'. He had never meant to kill any of her friends or any of her classmates, he had intended to kill the only piece of rationality that she had left. The refuge of her home.

"I sincerely hope you don't mind me taking the freedom to make us some coffee." Elijah gestured to the other cup of coffee on the opposite side of the table that Bonnie had not seen. "I have come to learn over the centuries that negotiation runs more smoothly with caffeine running through your veins. Both parties seems to see the issue much clearer."

"How did you get in here?" Bonnie choked, the words getting stuck in her throat hysterically.

"We'll get to that, If you'd be so kind and sit-"

"Don't you dare!" Bonnie shrieked. "How the _hell_ did you get in here?" The lights in the room flickered intensely before they finally died down, the room's only light now coming from the outside. The unintentional magic sparked between them.

Elijah inspected the put out lamp in the roof thoughtfully before he ran his tongue over his teeth. He looked back down at her. "Your father returned home." He answered simply.

Bonnie's blood ran cold.

"Where is he?" She breathed, looking around frantically. She cursed herself for forgetting that her father would come back home today, of course the psychopaths in this town would jump at the chance of getting back at her through her father. She should have been here to protect him.

Elijah surveyed her panic-stricken state with mild amusement. "He's upstairs taking a rest from his trip. Let's not wake him, shall we? He looked very tired."

Bonnie's eyes flicked towards the ceiling unintentionally and pricked her ears up. She didn't hear a sound besides her own racing heart. "How do I know he's not bleeding to death in the basement?" She fastened her eyes on him again mistrustfully.

Elijah raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What would I possibly gain from lying to you, Bonnie?"

She didn't trust him for a moment, but she decided to be satisfied with his answer for now. She watched him take another nonchalant sip of his coffee, and the gravity of the situation before her threw her off guard once more. Elijah Mikaelson was inside her house. He had been invited in and now he'd forever be able to come and go as he pleased. The insight was enough for her to be seized by mind numbing panic. He could kill her in her sleep. He could kill her father in her sleep.

She was screwed.

Elijah looked up again and nodded towards the cup he had put on the table for her. "Care to join me?"

"You were planning this all along, weren't you?" Bonnie asked, remaining in her place and outright ignoring his previous offer. "To use my father to get into my home."

Elijah put down the cup in his hand. "You have the unfortunate habit of paralleling me with my brother, Miss Bennett. I'm not Niklaus. I do not plan my every move in advance." But then he smirked and his eyes glittered with humor. "But your father's homecoming was a very fortunate coincidence, yes."

"I have told you before that I don't believe in coincidences." Bonnie answered coldly.

The next moment he was standing before her, the amused twinkle in his glance dead. Bonnie stumbled backwards in surprise and almost tripped over the doorstep behind her. His hand shot forward and gripped her arm firmly, steadying her effectively. He didn't let go.

Bonnie stared into the hard, dark eyes and wondered how it was possible for a person to change his temper so quickly. In his emotionless front she could see no traces of the amusement she had witnessed only a few seconds ago.

"I have held you nothing but high regard, Miss Bennett, but I'm starting to see that for a witch as bright as yourself, you're acting rather silly." Bonnie's gaze hardened at the insult, but he cut her off before she could speak.

"I'm a patient man. I can follow you far and near without tiring, but even a patient man as myself grows weary when all of his efforts are being ignored." His grip on her arm toughened and his brown eyes pierced through her, making her writhe in his grasp uncomfortably.

"If you're as eager to get rid of me as you claim, I'd realize that the quickest and only way to get rid of me is to acknowledge and respond to my efforts. Have I made myself clear?"

Bonnie faltered, for a moment forgetting the insults and the harsh grip on her arm. She searched his eyes for any indication of mischief or anything else that implied any sort of fiddle, but was only met by solemn steel. Elijah let go of her arm slowly, finally noticing her discomfort at being manhandled. But he didn't back away, instead he only seemed to lean further into her private sphere.

Somehow that made her feel a hundred times more uncomfortable than him manhandling her. She crossed her arms over her chest uneasily and noticed the way he followed her every move with his intense gaze.

Whatever he was doing, he needed to stop.

"So what you're saying is," Bonnie swallowed, trying to break the next to intimate atmosphere that was building between them. "that if I stop ignoring you, and actually _try_ to be civil, you'll leave me alone sooner?"

He cocked his head to the side, his eyes examining her. "I will disappear as soon as I consider my debt paid." He promised.

Her eyes narrowed but before she could interject he spoke up again, his lips quirking slightly. "And trust me, Miss Bennett, during the time I've traveled upon this earth my judgment have been pushed to the point of perfection. I will know when I'm deemed forgiven. Now, do we have an agreement?"

She eyed him doubtfully. Was there something she was missing? Was she falling into some sort of trap? This seemed way too innocent. His eyes, that always seemed so impassive, was now boring into her with nothing but absolute sincerity.

Bonnie looked away, once again feeling uncharacteristically uneasy under his gaze. "Fine. We have an agreement." Bonnie continued before a smile was able to cross his face, "But that doesn't mean I'll stop to try and find a way to kill you and the rest of your family."

He ducked his head with a smile on his lips. "I wouldn't dream of it."

The two stared at each other, neither one saying anything, barley watching. They stayed like that for what seemed like a day. Bonnie suddenly noticed, as her chest rose and almost touched his, how informally close they were standing and she was quick to take a step backward. Elijah, also seeming to be brought out of some sort of haze, cleared his throat and straightened his tie almost mechanically.

"Well then, I'll be seeing you, Miss Bennett." Bonnie watched him walk past her towards the hallway, standing completely still until she heard the sound of the outer door being closed. With the sound came the silly urge to collapse into a heap on the floor.

She didn't, instead she ran up the stairs to her dad's bedroom. She carefully slid the door open, sighing in relief when she spotted his bulky form facing away from her on the bed. His suitcase had been carelessly dropped on the side of the bed. It almost seemed as if he had fallen into the bed.

She had already turned to leave when he called her name. His eyes were tired and by the looks of it he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. But even if he seemed utterly exhausted, he inspected thoroughly her in that protective fashion he always did. "Is everything alright?"

Of some strange reason Bonnie felt like crying when she answered. "Yeah dad, everything's fine."

* * *

There! I hope you all are as happy as I am. (You should be, that was a chapter with almost entirely Elijah in it) I'd love to hear what you think though. ^^

Keep swimming.


	6. Chapter 6

Once again a chapter that had to be forced out from the deepest pits of hell. I don't know why this was so hard to write, but it was. And I'm not even that happy with it... Argh!

Disclaimer: I don't own vampire diaries yada yada...

* * *

She froze when she opened the door. He was leaning against one of the fence posts dressed in one of his usual suits, his head crocked to the side and his eyes gleaming with restrained humor. She understood immediately that he had known she would exit her house at this precise moment and had maneuvered accordingly. Her grip on the car keys in her hand hardened to the point of painful. The fact that he seemed to be aware of absolutely everything around her scared her.

"What do you want?" She demanded, standing as carved in stone behind the barrier of her doorstep. Even though she knew it really wasn't an impenetrable barrier when it came to Elijah anymore, the thought still brought her a small sense of security.

Elijah acknowledged the behavior with a small quirk of his lips. Of course he noticed that as well. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me on a little journey."

She hadn't expected that, and to be frank she hadn't expected him to answer at all. He had a habit of practically making her beg before he finally revealed his message. It had never been this easy. She eyed him suspiciously but found nothing in his face that betrayed anything else but honesty. It was a serious offer she realized.

Bonnie wanted nothing more but to firmly declare 'no' and slam the door in his face, but she knew she couldn't. She very well remembered their confrontation from the other day.

She had lain awake that night, twisting and turning in her bed and the sleeping pills doing nothing to her alarmed nerves. She had imagined him sitting in her armchair, imagined him watching her from outside her window, imagined him creeping in the corridor outside of her room. The knowledge that he really could enter her home at any time had truly sunk in and the panic had hit her with a violent blow. In the spur of one of her worsened moments she had even left her room to light every single lamp in the entire house. She had sat on a chair in the kitchen shaking when her father had found her the next morning.

But her crucial breakdown that night had given her time to think. She needed this to stop. Preferably very soon. She wouldn't be able to handle this much longer, her paranoia was already bordering to crazy. She had though about Elijah and his promise to never bother her again if she just _allowed_ him make it up to her, and as she was shaking of anxiety in the kitchen, it hadn't seemed that high of a sacrifice. She could be civil if it meant getting rid of him, if it meant things going back to normal.

So she took a deep breath, and asked merely a little tensely: "A journey where exactly?"

Elijah smiled politely. "I assure you it's not far, nor will it take long. I pledge to have you home by the evening."

"That doesn't answer my question."

The corners of his lips flicked upwards at her vigilance. "Have a little faith, Miss Bennett. I simply want to show you something I believe you'll find highly intriguing."

"If it's the caverns underneath the woods, I'm not interested." She retorted dryly, causing him to look down on the wooden floor beneath him with a smile. She suddenly realized how very out of place he seemed on her veranda. He; dressed in suits of the finest, most expensive fabrics, his hair perfectly combed and his whole being positively radiating perfection, was standing on her shabby, stale and barely bourgeois porch. She hastily swallowed the uncalled-for feelings of shame that washed over her.

Elijah looked up again, his eyes twinkling. "I promise it's not. Our trip exceeds the borders of Mystic Falls, I'm afraid."

"How far?" Bonnie persisted and ignored the amused look he gave her.

He leaned in slightly. "Won't you let me surprise you?"

His dark gaze burned into her and Bonnie shifted uneasily. His look caused a turmoil inside of her that she really didn't like. Even from their distance of several feet, he entailed a strange kind of sickness in her stomach that had her whole body fully alert in a whim. She swiftly looked away, because the whole situation only brought her closer and closer to a panic attack. She needed to be in control, especially when it came to herself, and with his gaze upon her she was far from in control. She refused to dwell on why that was.

"I see." Elijah suddenly stated softly and straightened himself up, the intense feel in his eyes gone.

Bonnie's narrowed eyes snapped over to where he stood. "What?"

"You're afraid."

"I'm not afraid of you." Bonnie snapped and without thinking twice adding, "I will go on this little road-trip with you."

She marched down the steps provoked, not dignifying him with a single glance as she walked past him. She was Bonnie fucking Bennett and she had nothing to fear from anyone, particularly not original vampires with a fetish for making her life more complicated. She could have them all down on their knees with a single arch of her hand.

While she was fuming, Elijah fell easily in step with her. He put a hand lightly behind her back and lead her easily towards a shiny, silver colored Mercedes that was parked neatly on the driveway. His car she presumed. She didn't know much about cars, but she knew enough to know that this wasn't the type of car the boys from her school would drive around in. This was probably the type of car the boys from her school _dreamed_ about driving around in. He opened the door to the passenger seat for her gracefully and made a sweeping gesture for her to enter. She peered inside and found that the interior was just as luxury as the exterior. How predictable of him to own this kind of car.

She sank down on the leather seat and understood immediately that there was no way the seats of his car could ever be compared to her own. The seats in his car provided a comfort that Bonnie never would have thought a car could ever be able to provide. Before Bonnie could stop herself, she sighed contently. Elijah chuckled knowingly as he placed himself behind the wheel and Bonnie's cheeks heated up in embarrassment. Damn him and his comfortable seats.

It wasn't before the car left her driveway that she realized that she had been manipulated. He had played on her stubbornness to get her to agree to this trip and succeeded in his task shamefully easily. The anger inside of her rose once again, but this time it was directed upon herself. She cursed herself for never thinking these things through properly and constantly acting out of impulse. She threw a swift glance at Elijah, who was keeping his eyes on the traffic in front of him. If he was triumphant he hid it well.

She took to looking out the window, trying to distract her thoughts. She saw the familiar places of Mystic Falls fly together in one big blur as the rain started falling. She looked up at the sky surprised, she hadn't even noticed the sky becoming overcast. Was she really that distracted by Elijah that she failed to notice the environment surrounding her?

"You're free to turn on the radio if you wish." Elijah said gently and brought her back from her thoughts. He nodded towards the car radio. "Unfortunately I have to say I'm quite... skeptic towards the music your generation seems to be so fond of, but I'm sure I'll manage."

Bonnie considered his offer for a while before she decided to let it be. She didn't really feel like listening to Lady Gaga either. She turned back to the window and saw the familiar sign that announced that they were now leaving Mystic Falls. She tried not to panic, but failed miserably.

She was alone in a car with one of the oldest vampires in the world, heading for who knows where and no one besides them was aware of any of it. What was she thinking agreeing to this? She should at least have let her friends know. He could rip her throat out at any given moment and bury her in some ditch and no one would ever know.

"We're heading for Delaware." Elijah informed and threw her an amused look. He must have picked up her accelerating heartbeat.

Bonnie's eyes flicked to him surprised. The answer had kind of caught her of guard. Delaware sounded too normal to be their goal. The state was too innocent, too normal, too _sane_.

"Delaware?" She repeated uncertainly and maybe a little suspiciously.

Elijah nodded. "Dover to be exact." He turned his head from the traffic and watched her with quirked lips. "Is there a problem?" Amusement twinkled in his dark brown eyes.

"What's in Dover?" Bonnie demanded and ignored his question.

"You'll see."

Bonnie glared.

* * *

"Miss Bennett." A hand shook her arm gently. Bonnie woke up with a flinch, a jolt of panic running through her when she saw him hovering over her. They stared at each other with unwavering eyes as one of them was left mildly surprised by the others behavior, and the other wondered where the hell she was. But then she remembered and she slowly started to relax.

"We're there?" She asked hoarsely, still a little drowsy from her nap. She cleared her throat.

The corners of Elijah's lips flicked upwards in amusement. "Yes, we're here."

In the next moment the passenger door to her right opened and he was standing there with a hand reached out, ready to help her out of the car. Bonnie disregarded the hand demonstrably and stepped out of the car by herself. She squinted her eyes to see in the bright sunlight and was taken aback by the sight in front of her.

They were standing in front of a large house that seemed out of place in their era. Beautiful details and rich embellishments adorned the baby blue house and made the house seem like brought right out of a fairy tale book. Rosebushes with white-flowering roses were planted beneath the small, cute porch and Bonnie could smell their scent all the way from where she was standing.

"Is this your house?" Bonnie breathed, dazzled by the grand building in front of her.

Elijah on the other hand seemed rather unimpressed. "No, I was never quite cordial to the Victorian architecture. Too lavish. A lot like the era actually."

"Then what are we doing here?" Her eyes twitching in irritation.

He held her eyes for a moment, his look long and cryptic, before he strode towards the house with the gravel of the footpath crunching under him. Bonnie had to fight to keep up with him since his legs were about twice the length of hers. He whipped up a old-fashioned key from the pocket of his suit and opened the door with a click.

Inside the dust was swimming in a pool of darkness and Bonnie was surprised when she noticed that the house seemed to have been abandoned for years. Bonnie walked hesitantly through the dark hallway into the living room. She wandered between the furniture that was covered in dusty blankets and the large windows with drawn curtains. She lit a couple of candles on the mantlepiece with a flick of her hand.

"What do you know of the witch trials, Miss Bennett?"

Elijah stood in the doorway to the room, one hand placed in his pocket calmly. He studied her carefully.

"Everything." She answered plainly, picking up a photo from a bureau and blowing away the dust.

An amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Is that so?" He changed his position so the weight lied on the other foot. "Then the name Jeremiah Briggs, should be rather familiar to you, right?"

Bonnie met his twinkling eyes with her own narrowed ones. "Who?"

Elijah smiled. "Jeremiah Briggs was one of the turnkeys in Salem during the trials. He held the witches that wasn't immediately burned captive until their sentence was stated." Bonnie tensed at the mention of her murdered ancestors. "But Mr. Briggs was a greedy man I'm afraid." Elijah continued unaffectedly. "He stripped the imprisoned witches of their possessions and fled. That way he escaped sharing the loot with the other turnkeys I assume.

She watched him closely, slightly captivated by his story.

"If I recall correctly," Elijah walked into the room briskly. "the night I first came to apologize for my actions, you had unsuccessfully been searching through the witch house for your ancestors' grimoires, am I right?"

Bonnie saw as he pulled away a dusty blanket from what Bonnie had believed to be a piece of furniture, to reveal a heap of paper boxes. He gestured towards the boxes with a small smile.

"Well, here you go."

* * *

A _big_, _sparkly _hug to irishcookie (aka thebennettdiaries) for recommending my story on tumblr. You can never imagine how big the smile on my face was. If you don't already, I'd suggest you go and follow her (on both tumblr and ) because she's beyond friggin' amazing.

Also a huge thank you to all those who constantly read, favorite and review this story. I don't know how you put up with my slow updates.

Much, much love!


	7. Chapter 7

Hello all you wonderful, wonderful people! Words cannot describe how thrilled I am by your response to this story! I read all the reviews and I go all mushy and blushy inside (and outside). I know I haven't answered all of them and for that I'm terribly sorry, but things are a little... hectic. I won't go into details. But keep the reviews coming. They're my fuel.

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD. Nope.

* * *

Teared, yellowed pages filled the round, moldy table in the kitchen. The pages from the various grimoires were blurry and hard to understand, but to Bonnie they were worth more than gold.

She browsed through the old books with never ending captivation, squinting her eyes only to make out the ancient scriptures in the dim candlelight. Some of the spells were tools to make everyday tasks easier – tasks that the modernization now had tackled without the help of magic – but there were also spells that established that her ancestors had been forced to encounter vampires too. She had yet to read a spell that mentioned an original such though.

She knitted her brows as her thoughts against her will flied to the perplexing original _she_ was encountering on an almost daily basis. She didn't at all understand his reasoning behind giving her all these grimoires, and that made her wonder what he was playing at. Didn't he understand that she could kill him? That she _would_ kill him at any given chance? She had searched for any kind of slip in his carefully lied facade – a mischievous glace, a loop sided smirk – anything that could give away something, but Bonnie had begun to suspect that there really was nothing that Elijah couldn't control. He was unreadable.

It was all so frustrating.

"An interesting collection, is it not?" A low voice beside her observed and Bonnie jumped in her seat for what seemed like the tenth time that day. She whipped her head around, meeting his slightly smug eyes with her own narrowed ones.

"Would you stop that?" Bonnie snapped in irritation and tried to still her racing heart.

Elijah just looked at her with amused indulgence before he leaned in closer to reach one of the teared pages that lied on the other side of the table. Bonnie watched him from the corner of her eye as he carefully studied the scriptures. She was mildly taken aback as she noticed how relaxed he seemed. She didn't get the usual feeling that he was holding something back or that he was one mistake away from killing her. In this moment he sat completely serene in the chair beside her.

How... weird.

"You understand Latin, Miss Bennett?" Elijah spoke up surprised, his eyes flying to her curiously.

Bonnie shrugged. "Enough to understand what they're talking about." She hesitated before she continued, "Can I ask you something?"

Elijah put the page down on the table and turned to her, giving her his full attention. "Certainly."

"Why did you give me these?" Bonnie asked, all of the built-up frustration of trying to figure it out shining through in her voice. She noticed how a smile tugged in the corners of his mouth before he ducked his head in amusement. Her vexation clearly entertained him.

When he looked up a small smile still graced his lips. "Miss Bennett, if I'm not mistaken, the grimoires are rightfully yours." He opened one of the books and moved a finger over the elegantly written name in the corner of the first page. _Amelia Bennett_ Bonnie read. "I'd be a thief to keep you from your inheritance."

"But I didn't know these existed. You could have just not told me about them." Bonnie said simply and took the aged book from him. She steadily held his gaze as he let go of his grasp on the book.

"Under different circumstances, I might have." Elijah admitted and straightened his tie unnecessarily.

"What do you mean, 'under different circumstances'?" Bonnie's eyes narrowed.

Elijah leaned in, his eyes glowing intensely. "Under different circumstances you would have accepted my apologies without further ado, Miss Bennett. You would have listened to my logic and understood that I did what I did to protect my family. I would never have been forced to try and win your forgiveness." He chuckled. "But the tables were turned rather quickly, and I recognized that I had to step up if I ever wanted to earn your favor."

Bonnie stared at him in panicked bewilderment, she only seeming to notice his error. Her _favor_? She abruptly noticed how close they were. Sitting side by side, their tights were lightly pressed against each other and their shoulders were mere inches away from brushing. His body was turned towards her casually but it only seemed to make their position even more intimate. His dark, warm eyes appeared to bore into her and uncover all of her well hidden secrets. She fought to hold back the blood that threatened to rush to her cheeks.

"Forgiveness." Bonnie reeled off hastily, not liking the tingling sensation that was building in her chest. "You realized you had to step up if you ever wanted to earn my forgiveness."

The warmth in Elijah's eyes disappeared and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yes, of course. Your forgiveness."

His voice had regained its usual formal intonation and Bonnie stiffened subconsciously. The formal tone in his voice was what could make anyone stop in their tracks, what could make anyone understand that he was a person with power, and for Bonnie it usually meant that she should expect the unexpected. It was a reflex she hadn't even know she had developed.

The chair screeched as he pushed it back and stood and Bonnie jerked. She inspected him vigilantly, waiting for him to fling himself at her over the table or something of the kind, but instead he took a look at his watch and threw her a quick glance. "I'm afraid it's time for us to go. I made an oath to have you home by the evening and I intend to keep it." He half-smiled at the last part.

Bonnie stood quietly and began collecting the books and the papers lying on and around the table, not really sure what to take of the change of atmosphere. She carefully put the grimoires back in the brown paper boxes, but when she made a move to move one of them, Elijah stole the box from her arms. Bonnie started and backed instinctively while Elijah just met her wide eyes with an indecipherable look in his eyes. Before she was able to say anything he and the box was gone in a flash.

She stood dazed for a while before she sighed heavily and raised her arms in exasperation, stomping after him out of the house a little childishly. She was going crazy trying to figure something out that didn't even make sense anymore. His words, his expressions and his actions that contradicted them; it was all a never ending headache.

Elijah was calmly leaning against the car when she emerged from the house, one of his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants casually. As expected he opened the car door for her and Bonnie was inwardly surprised at how quickly she had come to be used to the procedure. It was almost as if it was mandatory. Bonnie stepped into the car and as usual the door clicked shut behind her at the same time as the door opened on her other side. She studied him as he started the car and elegantly backed out of the driveway. She reluctantly realized that he probably was a better driver than she'd ever be.

He turned his head to her and smiled slightly. "You fell awfully silent."

"Does my silence bother you?" Bonnie wondered with a raised eyebrow.

"I have come to quite enjoy our conversations."

She stared at him silently, not really sure how to take his confession or what to answer to it. She averted her glance to the window and watched the streetlights they passed by in a flash. She had a strange feeling they were tiptoeing dangerously close to a line that was not to be crossed. She felt that one unguarded move could alter everything that should not ever be altered – heck, she knew that they already were screwing things up. Three weeks ago she would never _ever _have agreed to go on a road trip with him anywhere, and now she was sitting in his car almost voluntarily. She remembered despising him so much she would taste the bitter flavor of her hatred in her mouth, and accepting any sort of gift from him had been something as ridiculous as it was unheard of.

Now the thought of sitting beside him in his car – which really should repulse her beyond measure – didn't seem so repulsive anymore. And she didn't really mind accepting the grimoires either.

She warily pondered if she even wanted him dead anymore.

She cursed under her breath violently, not caring if Elijah could hear her or not. She was actually getting _attached_ to him. Fuck, fuck, fuck! She needed to put an end to this agreement of theirs before it led her on paths she should not take. Like ever.

Bonnie jerked back to reality as Elijah suddenly turned to the right into a bumpy gravel road. She threw a hasty, frightened look at Elijah while she tensely clung to the jesus handle at her side. This was _not_ the expressway. Elijah just smiled in amusement at her panic-stricken eyes.

"Where are we going?" Bonnie demanded, throwing alarmed glances out the window that did nothing but to add to her hysteria. Forests loomed on both sides of the narrow road and the light the streetlights provided were too dim to make any difference in the dusk.

"There's no need to panic, Miss Bennett. I'm not going to kill you." He smirked.

His promise rather worsened her state than improved it, as it entered vivid images of bloody murders into her head that made her blood run cold.

She hastily shrugged them off. "Where are we going, Elijah?" Bonnie asked once again, trying to control her voice that was raising an octave every passing second.

He looked down at her indulgently and smiled good-naturally. "Have I not been proved trustful, Miss Bennett? Settle down, the grip on the strap of your bag looks painful."

Bonnie slowly looked down in her lap and noticed to her surprise that she _was_ holding onto the brown leather piece quite tightly. She tried to let go, but the muscles refused to obey. She gave up and tried to breathe through the spinning in her head, all the while she felt the nails dig into her skin. As her breathing evened, her hand soon released the iron grip on her bag.

She looked up again and noticed they had passed the forest and were now surrounded by extensive fields of all the kinds. She also saw the colorful tents, the carousels and the Ferris wheel that towered in the distance.

Bonnie turned her head and stared at Elijah dumbfounded.

"A _fair_? You're taking me to a _fair_?"

Elijah averted his eyes from the road and met her wide eyes with a grin. "It makes your initial fright seem rather silly, does it not?"

"_Why_?" She inquired, her tone bewildered. She watched as he drove into a field where hundreds of cars were parked neatly. She saw how a pair of boys eyed the car appreciatively as Elijah smoothly parked between two decidedly more mediocre cars, and Bonnie didn't need to look twice to understand that Elijah's car was the fanciest of all the cars in the parking.

Elijah turned the engine off. "Well, you looked quite rattled and I assumed a visit at the fair might cheer you up."

Bonnie was still speechless when the door opened for her a couple of seconds later. The familiar smell that seemed to follow every fair hit her immediately as she stepped out. She breathed in the heavy mixture of popcorn, sweat and grass and she couldn't help but to smile. It had been far too long since she had been able to attend any sort of fair, and she now realized that she had missed it.

She walked along Elijah into the swarm of people that all seemed equally happy and careless. She listened to the sound of people laughing and chatting eagerly, to the sound of a baby crying and a little boy throwing a tantrum as he didn't win the stuffed zebra.

It was wonderful.

She discerned the sound of music emerge from a big red tent on the skirts of the fair, and approached it curiously. She stopped at the entrance and leaned against one of the posts with the smile still gracing her lips. The tent was crowded with couples in all ages dancing slowly to the beautiful tune of a saxophone. Her smile widened as she saw a father dancing with his small daughter happily, not caring as she repeatedly stepped on his toes.

She bit her lower lip hesitantly, before she looked up at the man beside her. "Thank you." She truly meant it. She had needed this more than she had realized.

Elijah just smiled warmly down at her and offered her his hand, nodding towards the couples inside. "Would you like to dance, Miss Bennett?"

She connected her gaze with his and asked, her tone slightly suspicious: "What's your purpose here?"

His smile didn't lose its warmth. "No purpose. I simply wish to dance with a beautiful woman."

Bonnie's chest tingled and she could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. She had been a lot of things in her life – a daughter, a friend, a witch – but she had never been a _woman_, and as Elijah's eyes stared down on her appreciatively, she truly felt she was.

She'd later blame her teenage hormones, but she accepted his hand with a quiet, "Yes."

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Why do I have the strange urge to type a fin at the end of this? XD We're no where near at the end! I hope you all liked it because this chapter was a fun one to write.

Next: The Dance!


	8. Chapter 8

**You reviewers are friggin' wonderful! I squeal every time a new review is in my box! I'd like to personally thank irishcookie, Reels, anneryn7, liltle, aprilfool, before adam, scorpiustar, all guests and everyone that ever has taken time to review. You guys rock my socks! I re-read them and do these little happy dances every time you say something nice. Like always, stay awesome! **

**Disclaimer: I think you've got it by now.**

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As Bonnie's fingertips brushed his, Elijah's smile softened and his warm eyes met hers for a swift second. With a delicate grip on her hand, he led her into the crowd of couples that swayed slowly to the soothing tones of the saxophone. Bonnie followed him dazedly, enough distracted by the rather tender look that had passed in his eyes, to almost fall over when he came to a sudden stop in the middle of the crowd. Elijah rose an amused brow at her momentary wobbling and Bonnie felt herself blush against her will.

_Dear God, where was her dignity?_

Bonnie looked away and tried to hide her rosy cheeks, chiding herself for loosing her head over something this silly. She felt his hand release hers only to slide deliberately around her waist and with a small tug she was pressed flushed against him. She looked up at him with wide eyes, not really expecting his teasing, which he only answered with a soft smirk before he grasped her right hand in his left, and soon they were swaying to the music like all the other couples around them.

Bonnie twisted imperceptibly in his embrace as they moved in tact with the music. She felt so small with his arms around her, like when she had been just a little girl and her father had picked her up to swing her around, yet it was entirely different. In her father's arms she had been terrified of falling, but in Elijah's arms she felt strangely secure. Small but secure.

She frowned. That didn't seem right. Elijah was just as much the enemy as Klaus was and there shouldn't be any safety in his arms.

"Is everything alright, Bonnie?" Elijah inquired when he noticed her troubled expression. Bonnie looked up and felt a little jolt travel through her as his warm brown eyes met hers.

She swiftly looked down again, not allowing herself to cogitate the reason behind _that_. Her answer was a court, "Yes."

She moved her eyes to the scenery surrounding her, observing other couples as they slow danced gently. A girl in Bonnie's age caught her glance over the shoulder of her partner, and the girl eyed them curiously. For the first time it hit Bonnie how odd they must look together. Elijah, wearing a suit of the finest and most expensive fabrics, and she, wearing a pair of regular jeans and a regular shirt.

She realized she was probably the only girl not wearing a skirt among the crowd, and for a moment she lowered her head self-consciously.

Until she perceived that that was not the contrast that weighted.

She was a witch, a servant of nature, and he was a vampire, a curse on this earth, and yet they were here dancing like it was _normal_. Like it didn't matter that he had killed more people than were present on this fair. Like it didn't matter that she was taught to hate all that he was.

A wave of embarrassment washed over her and she blushed furiously. What were they doing? This was ridiculous! What would her grams say if she saw her? The wave of embarrassment was quickly replaced by one of shame. Bonnie tried to pull her hand out of the original's grip but the sudden jerk only made him clasp her hand harder. Elijah looked down on her surprised where she was discretely trying to wriggle herself free of his embrace, looking as if she had seen a ghost.

"Is something the matter?" He asked with knitted eyebrows, stubbornly refusing to let go of her hand although she was almost openly fighting his grip by now.

"**Yes**. This is ridiculous. We should go." Bonnie muttered and continued to try to pull her hand out of his grip.

"I'm afraid I fail to see the ridiculous in the situation." Elijah persisted.

"Let me go or I'll destroy you."

Elijah stared down on her, surprised by her sudden outburst. As he met her eyes, the previous warmth in his slowly faded into something Bonnie hadn't seen in a while; the formal indifference that he had worn that first time he had appeared in her car. But he didn't let her go, he continued to sway them around on the dirty field as ceremoniously as if they were in a royal ballroom. He didn't meet her eyes when he spoke, instead looking at some invisible point over her shoulder. "I thought we had an agreement."

Bonnie glared at his chest. "Our agreement didn't say anything about dancing."

Elijah's jaw ticked. "True. But our agreement did implicate civility, and though the day started off well enough, I find your courtesy going down with the sun."

"I want to leave and you're stopping me. Excuse me for not putting a 'please' at the end." Bonnie hissed quietly.

"I asked you to dance and you accepted. I am only being a gentleman and finishing the dance." He answered with an increasing amount of coldness in his voice.

"A gentleman would let me go." Bonnie argued and tried to pull away one last time.

"No, a fool would." He said with gravity.

Bonnie's feet stopped moving, not anymore following Elijah's lead. The original stopped in his track as well, his eyes boring into her with their burning intensity. Bonnie only stared back, her mouth slightly agape. The affectionate words echoed in her mind and spread a pleasant feeling – that she cursed – down every vein of her body.

"What?" Bonnie breathed, finally being able to form words through the hazy mess that was her brain.

Elijah let go of her at last, straightening his tie orderly but keeping his eyes on her the whole time. Somewhere in a corner of her mind, a voice told her that she should care about how everyone was throwing wondering glances at the only couple that was standing still in the middle of the tent, but she didn't listen. She only had eyes on Elijah as he ducked his head in a manner so Elijah-like that it should be her and not him that was hiding a small smile.

"I don't believe it should come as any surprise when I tell you I think of you very warmly." You could believe he was making an absent statement about the weather when you heard him speak. His tone was flat and idle and almost aloof. Only the small, tender smile that was gracing his lips and the warm look that was present in his eyes indicated that the topic was in fact something much more cherished.

"What?" Bonnie repeated stupidly, not trusting her brain to have interpreted his words correctly. Surely he didn't say what she just thought he had.

"I think I've made my sentiments very clear; the agreement, the grimoires, the fair," he stopped to make a sweeping gesture around them. "the _**dance**_. I imagine it all should be quite obvious by now."

Bonnie just stared at him, his words slowly building an absolutely absurd guess inside her brain that she didn't really care for. At all.

His smile only widened as he established her previously unthinkable speculation. "I'm quite fond of you, Bonnie."

Her mind scrambled and she looked up at him in bewilderment. No. No. This was wrong. This was _very _wrong. They were enemies, two opposite forces that could very well come from two different realms, and there should not be any kind of fondness regarding the other involved. And there definitely shouldn't be a small part of her that actually _**liked**_ that there might be. No, no, no, _**no**_.

A new wave of panic crashed over her. She realized as she kept staring at him that his feelings wasn't the only ones who had softened. It struck her that she didn't really hate his guts anymore. He wasn't the unreliable bastard that back-stabbed them for his lying hybrid brother anymore. He was simply Elijah. The original vampire that had manipulated her to a road-trip and taken her out dancing.

Oh dear god, she was screwed.

Without a word she turned on her heels and hurried out the tent, needing to put as much distance between them as possible. Fast.

Her mind raced. She knew from experience that actually liking people was dangerous, especially if that person happened to be a vampire (which seemed to be the matter 80 % of the time nowadays). She had liked Stefan, and for some short moment maybe even Damon, but that had in both cases proved to be a mistake. Because like brought trust and that trust would always backfire.

She had learned the hard way that vampires couldn't be trusted, once when Damon attacked her when she was possessed by Emily and twice when both of the brothers snapped her mother's neck. And somehow she felt that if Stefan and Damon could do that much damage, an original like Elijah could do twice as much.

Bonnie jostled through the crowd and ignored the annoyed looks she received from multiple of dancers, all the while feeling her own dance partner following her close on her heels. She was eternally grateful for the many eyewitnesses that prevented him from using his supernatural speed.

As she finally emerged from the tent, she strode with determined steps towards the parking lot.

"May I ask where you're going?" He appeared like out of thin air beside her. Evidently in this crowd he didn't care about being seen using his abilities.

Bonnie kept her eyes steadily in front of her, her answer curt and short. "To the car. We're going home."

He fell silent and Bonnie decided not to dignify him with any glance, since he always seemed to notice. She childishly attempted to speed up to throw him off, but found him keeping pace effortlessly. Damn it. She thought she saw him throw her an amused glance in the corner of her eye, which only infuriated her further.

As they got to the shining car Bonnie went straight for the passenger door, too upset to care about Elijah's gentleman customs. She tugged at the door handle, but found it locked. She turned around swiftly and meant to snap at him to unlock the door, only to have the words dying on her tongue immediately at his proximity. His face only centimeters from hers and his body pressed intimately against hers, she felt her entire being stiffen.

His face was emotionless as he placed both of his arms on the roof of the car and thus trapping her like a cornered animal. The warm brown eyes bore into her and against her will Bonnie found herself mesmerized and unable to look away.

"What are you doing?" She finally blurted, her voice shriller than usual. She pressed herself back against the metal surface vigilantly.

Elijah instantly leaned in, his dark shadow enveloping her. _Like he wasn't close enough before_. "A wise man once said that you should never go to bed with unsolved disputes. I've always agreed to that thought."

One of his hands left its place on the cover of the car and moved softly down her cheek. Bonnie stood stiff as a statue as his hand continued with their tender caresses on her cheek and somewhere in her mind she was aware that she had stopped breathing. Elijah met her eyes momentarily, and by the heated intensity in his eyes Bonnie thought her heart would stop dead in its track, but instead it sped to an insane velocity.

His eyes lingered a moment longer than necessary on her lips as he continued, "Why are you upset with me, Bonnie?"

Bonnie fought a shudder at his deep, raspy voice. She felt herself quickly losing sense of right and wrong, felt her barriers quickly come tumbling down. If she wasn't careful the wrongness of this wouldn't be so wrong anymore, and she'd be helpless against him.

His thumb brushed over her collarbone lightly and shivers moved freely up Bonnie's spine.

"This is wrong." Bonnie blurted, needing to get the words out before the less moral part of her took over and ignored all reason.

"How so?" He inquired distractedly and his warm breath danced over her skin as he spoke, his large hands continuing to roam her face.

Bonnie's heart slammed into her ribcage as his hands cupped her face, holding her like a piece of precious jewelery. Bonnie stared intently into his eyes that burned like never before and made her knees feel weak.

_What was he doing to her?_

She felt one of his hands move to grip her around the waist, trying to pull her even closer. Her own hands were placed on his chest, not surrendering to him but not fighting him.

All they could hear was the sound of their synced breathing, all they could see was each others eyes. And with their lips only seconds apart, a beeping sound was heard from her bag.

They stood as frozen as the beeping rang between them until Elijah finally straightened and took two long steps back. Bonnie hurried to search her bag for her phone, her heart still racing and her hands fumbling. Her cheeks burned as she at last found the iPhone at the bottom of her purse and she quickly opened the text.

_**Going to Denver w/ Damon. Need Jeremy's help to contact Rose. TTYL. /Elena**_

"Have we been found out?" Elijah asked, clearing his throat. One of his hands was hid in his suit pocket and the other was toying with the car keys absently. He seemed perfectly nonchalant.

"No. Elena's taking a road trip too." Bonnie finally dared to meet his eyes. "Can we go home?"

Elijah strode forward purposefully and opened the passenger door. He nodded for her to get in. "Certainly."

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**TheBennettDiaries has done it again. She did this big recommendation post about this fic on tumblr a few weeks ago. Asfjkdslhgjsh! Thank you so much, honey! You made my day!**

**I'd like to wish you all a good week and I'm off doing homework. Review if you liked my update! **


	9. Chapter 9

**I know it's been a long time since I last updated, and I hope I still have readers left. If you want an explanation for my absence you can visit my tumblr (same user name), since I don't want to bore you with that here. We both know that's not why you're here. Please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.  
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"You know, you still haven't told me why you returned." The words were uttered thoughtfully before the boy swung the ax skillfully into the very middle of the log. One of the split pieces fell to the bark-covered ground with a soft thud. Jamie straightened himself up expectantly, holding the ax in a relaxed grip with both of his hands.

Bonnie smiled at him teasingly from her place by the garden table, averting her eyes from the open grimoires in front of her. "You haven't figured that out yet?" She grinned before she continued. "It may have something to do with the view." She nodded towards him, making sure to let her eyes linger on his bare, sweaty stomach.

Jamie grinned and placed the ax on the ground carefully before he strolled over to her and sat down on the opposite side of the table. He looked with amusement down on the table that was cram-full of paper. Bonnie threw him an apologetic glance and began collecting the papers she had scattered all over the small table. "Sorry. I tend to take up a lot of space."

Jamie shrugged good-temperately and reached for the water pitcher that functioned as paper weight for a lot of lose pages. "No problem, mum was the same." He didn't bother about pouring the water in a glass, just bringing the pitcher to his lips and drinking straight from it. "It looks difficult." He remarked when he had swallowed, and nodded towards the old books.

Bonnie looked down on the yellowed books and pages before she smiled sheepishly. "I barely understand a word. Look," Bonnie turned over the pages of one of the grimoires, until she arrived at the most ornamented one. "here they're talking about some sort of powerful spell."

Jamie leaned in and examined the spread. "What does it do?"

Bonnie smiled. "I have no idea. That's all I understand. It's written in some old version of Latin. Only a few words are the same."

"Whoa, never thought Latin would get modern."

Bonnie laughed and Jamie grinned. He picked up a paper that Bonnie hadn't noticed before, which was a little strange as it clearly stood out with its pure white color. She watched as his eyes skimmed the page before he lowered the page and looked at her with a wide grin. "I didn't know ancient witches arranged decade dances, or that they were supposed to remember to buy a costume."

Bonnie snorted. "No, that's me. Technically I'm still in the prom committee, even if I never go to the meetings or help with any of the events. Care's the chairperson so that's why they haven't kicked me out yet." Jamie handed the paper to her and Bonnie studied the paper with the dozens of instructions written in pink ink. The whole paper screamed Caroline; hearts over the 'i's, pink flowers in the corners and a smiley in every other sentence. She smiled and folded the paper in half.

She waved the paper in the air before she put it in her bag. "Care still gives me the list of instructions for every event they arrange, in hope that I'll actually help with any of them. I haven't had the heart to tell her that ship sailed a long time ago."

Jamie nodded. "Instead you practice spells and read books that are written in a dead language." Humor shined in his eyes. "The natural choice."

Bonnie snorted with a broad smile on her face. "Exactly. What more could you wish for?" Then she let her smile drop and groaned. "Oh, God! I'm really boring, aren't I? It's a _Saturday_ and I'm here reading a bunch of old books that I can't understand. What's _wrong_ with me?"

"I don't think you're boring." Jamie said quickly, red spots appearing on his cheeks. He cleared his throat before continuing hastily, "I mean, you fight vampires and all that shit and that's really... cool." He finished lamely.

Bonnie squirmed in her seat uncomfortably, also she feeling her cheeks heating. "Err.. thanks, but it's not all that cool. All I seem to do these days is casting spells that afterward leaves me disabled for days. It's not much... fighting involved."

Her cheeks were on fire by the time she was finished with her awkward rambling. She played with the pages of the grimoires, from the corner of her eye noticing how Jamie searched for something to fix his eyes on. He seemed relieved when his eyes landed on the water pitcher.

"I'll go and refill this and... yeah." He reeled, nearly knocking his chair over in his eager to leave the table. Never waiting for Bonnie's reply.

Bonnie sat there as she heard Jamie's hasty footsteps take off towards the house. She felt a little guilty for lying to him and letting him believe that she came here to see him when she really didn't. She placed her head in her hands and cursed violently. The last thing she needed was Jamie believing she was interested in him, because she wasn't. She simply wanted to spend some time away from Mystic Falls without anyone asking any tiresome questions, and playing the "flirt" card seemed like the simplest way to do that.

She was beginning to doubt her decision. In fact, when she thought about it, she was beginning to doubt her overall ability to make decisions lately.

_Elijah acknowledged the behavior with a small quirk of his lips. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me on a little journey."_

Bonnie quickly shook her head to get rid of the images bothering her mind. The road-trip with Elijah had been something she had vowed that would never happen again. She had thought about it and decided that it was all a one time mistake that she made out of temporary lack of judgment, which rooted in exhaustion and burnout. Nothing more. She allowed the slip since it grounded in something she should have taken care of better, her health, but she was more rested now and there was no excuse to stop her search to find a way to kill the originals.

She took a determined breath and looked down at the grimoires. She leaned down to inspect the spread, placing her chin in her hand. The incomprehensible text taunted her wherever she looked and she sighed irritated. Of course the grimoire belonging to the very mother of the originals would be just as complex as before mentioned originals.

She snapped the uppermost book shut and moved to place the book back in her bag, since the book only brought her a headache she didn't want.

"Bonnie."

Her arm froze midair. The sound of the birds' cheerful chirping faded and the flowery pattern of the tablecloth became blurry dots. She kept her head down and hoped the formal voice had only been a cruel trick made by her imagination.

Her name was called again and Bonnie twitched. The voice sounded strongly from behind her, the reality of it no longer debatable and throwing her back to moments she had promised herself not to ever think of again.

_His face was emotionless as he placed both of his arms on the roof of the car and thus trapping her like a cornered animal. The warm brown eyes bore into her and against her will, Bonnie found herself mesmerized and unable to look away._

_"What are you doing?" She finally blurted, her voice shriller than usual. She pressed herself back against the metal surface vigilantly._

Her throat felt dry and her heart was hammering wildly in her chest. She tried desperately to think of a way to get past him without being forced to face him, but quickly realized it was impossible. She rose her head slightly and glared at an invisible point in front of her resolutely. No matter what she'd stick to her plan. She wouldn't be played into his hands anymore, she was stronger than that now.

Elijah cleared his throat where he stood a few feet behind her. "I have to say you've been quite hard to reach these past days, Miss Bennett. I hope that wasn't intentional on your part."

She didn't bother wondering how he had found her. She had long ago understood that Elijah always found what he searched for.

With a couple of long strides he was sitting in front of her in the chair Jamie hurriedly had left. The diversity between the two men that had occupied the chair couldn't have been greater; where Jamie had slouched in a typical boy-like manner, Elijah was now sitting elegantly and radiating sophistication from every fiber of his body. He looked at her with a ghost of a smile on his lips, and Bonnie wondered what he made out of the cut in her heart rhythm as his warm eyes met hers. Bonnie didn't even doubt that he had heard it.

His expression revealed nothing as he simply stated, "I know you're avoiding me, Bonnie."

Bonnie swallowed before she rose her chin confidently, ready to show him her self-preservation was activated again, even though she felt nothing of it anymore. "I've been busy, nothing else." She said, secretly proud of herself for being able to keep her tone curt. Elijah looked at her amused and Bonnie got a feeling he saw right through her act.

"Of course." Elijah said with indulgence, his amused smile growing. "Excuse me for thinking it had anything to do with me."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed, continuing her act. "Why would it?"

Elijah just smiled and took the grimoire she had been planning to put in her bag from her hands. He inspected the cover thoughtfully and ran his hand over the worn embellishments. He looked up to throw her a hasty glance. "I trust it was Niklaus who gave you our mother's grimoire."

Bonnie nodded shortly.

Elijah opened the book at the spread Bonnie had been examining. His eyes moved over the page hastily before he met her eyes once again. He placed the book carefully on the table. "Should I be concerned for your well-being, Bonnie?"

"Excuse me?" Bonnie asked blankly, knitting her eyebrows.

Elijah made a sweeping gesture over the book. "This spell, it's rather... austere."

"You understand it?" Bonnie asked astounded, not knowing why it surprised her. Of course Elijah would understand it.

A smile pulled in the corner of his lips. "I take it you don't."

Bonnie shook her head reluctantly. Silence fell over them as she battled with her pride before her curiosity finally got the better of her. "What does it say?"

Elijah ducked his head briefly to conceal a growing smile on his lips. When he looked up again, there was a kind of sparkle present in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "I could translate it for you, if you so wish."

Bonnie eyed him suspiciously. "Really? What's the catch?"

"Come to dinner with me." He smiled pleasantly, his eyes dancing with something very similar to smugness.

Bonnie scoffed. "No."

Elijah smiled down on the grimoire before he rose from his chair. "Very well. Word of advice, it'd be wise to read the scriptures in the corner before performing the spell. It's a warning worth burdening one's memory with."

Bonnie stared at the grimoire as she heard Elijah pass her by. Her mind scrambled as she watched the faded letters in the corner that she hadn't even noticed before. She very well knew that he could be decieving her – that he _probably_ was deceiving her – and that she had promised herself to not let herself be manipulated anymore, but damn it, she would take the bite.

"Friday. Seven o'clock. I bring the grimoire and you promise to translate it." Bonnie said loudly, her words sounding pathetic even to her ears. She had enough dignity left to not turn around and look at him.

Bonnie's cheeks burned of embarrassment as she heard him chuckle. "Of course. Good day, Miss Bennett. Jamie."

Bonnie turned around slowly to see Jamie standing behind her, holding a refilled water pitcher in his hand and staring after Elijah's retreating back confused. He soon met her eyes with raised eyebrows.

"A friend of yours?"

Bonnie nodded mutely.

"Yeah, they just keep getting weirder."

* * *

**Trust me when I say that Jamie is the last person I want to write right now, but he's a part of this story and therefore has to be. I was never a big Jamie fan and can't honestly wait for him to disappear. **

**I don't know what to say of this chapter except that it's late. I rushed the end since I really wanted to update it, but I hope it's not too obvious. XD **

**If there is something actually worth commenting I hope you let me know, and if not, I'll see you guys next time! (which hopefully won't be in two months from now) **


	10. Chapter 10

To put it lightly; oh holy _**shit**_! The reviews! They've crossed _**a freaking hundred**_! Do you guys know how big of a deal this is to me? It's over a hundred thoughts that you amazing people have left me! It's mind-blowing! I honestly can't thank you enough! You're all so kind and wonderful that I might possibly cry. I love you guys. I seriously do. I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD or anything related to it.

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Bonnie glanced furtively at the pink toiletry bag in the corner of the washbasin. She looked back at herself in the mirror. Her wet hair clung to her face unattractively and drops of water ran down her neck and made her shiver slightly. She reached for her phone on the shelf and checked the time. 6:01.

She felt the uneasiness that had followed her for the whole past week creep back up and tug at her skin. She had nothing short of lived to regret the dinner she had promised Elijah. She had dragged herself out of bed every morning for the past week, panicking and hoping the day would never end. She had rushed through every little chore and fought to keep herself occupied, only to be left with even more time to fret over the amount of days left to today. Something in her stomach fluttered oddly as she realized that he'd be here in less than an hour. She wasn't sure whether the fluttering in her stomach was unpleasant or not. Only that it made her feel edgy like nothing else.

She tied the towel tighter around herself with a frustrated sound and searched the blow-drier out. With the blow-drier plugged in and turned on she watched her wet hair fly around in the mirror. Once again her eyes felt drawn to the small pink bag in the corner. Bonnie focused on her reflection determinedly, and tried her best to ignore the blurry outlines of the bag that was visible in the corner of her eyes. She did so not need that. This was an ordinary meeting between two individuals that may or may not be working on the same side in a supernatural war, and there was no reason to dress up or apply make-up. It was a simple business meeting.

She turned the blow-drier off and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was dry and lied in that weird half-straight half-curly way that it always lied after she had used the blow-drier. A traitorous voice in her head told her she could fix that. She opened the lowest drawer and saw her purple curling iron lying innocently where she last had left it. With a last look in the mirror she plugged the curling iron into the outlet. She swallowed the shame and told herself it wasn't for _him_. If they'd be around people she should at least look decent.

The traitorous voice told her that if that was the case then make-up shouldn't be a problem either. She ignored it and focused on the curls.

The result was a lot better than the previous hairstyle. The curls flowed prettily around her face and almost made up for the indignity she felt making them. With a final glance in the mirror she decided that she was done and hurried out the bathroom.

Bonnie stopped in the doorway and hesitated slightly before she quickly snatched the toiletry bag from the washbasin. She hastily crossed the small corridor to her room, clutching the pink bag to her chest shamefully.

In her room she threw the bag on her bed. She put on some underwear before she opened her closet. She stared inside. What was she supposed to wear? With a look at the clock on her wall, she cursed. Elijah would be here in twenty minutes. She really didn't have time for any decision agony.

She opened the other door to her closet and peered inside. She quickly went through the clothes that hung on the hangers before her eyes were caught by something purple. It was pressed between a green blouse and a denim jacket. She pushed away the hangers and inspected the garment before she sighed. It was a simple plum-colored neck skater dress that she honestly had forgotten she had ever purchased. It had been a spur of the moment decision on a shopping trip with Caroline, and she had never had any occasion to wear it. But she couldn't wear a dress, could she? That be completely unethical and… wrong. She fumbled with the various shirts that we're neatly piled up in her closet while she kept a worried eye on the clock. The minutes flew by too quickly.

She held up a brown tunic in front of her and turned to the mirror. There was no way she could wear that. She flung the tunic on her bed. She crossed her arms in front of her closet with a frustrated huff. She looked at the clock for a while before she clenched her teeth and snatched the dress of the hanger.

Bonnie was surprised by how good the dress looked on her. The figure-hugging upper part clung to her body prettily and the décolletage was perfect. A simple black belt at her waist marked the end of the top and the beginning of the skirt and she admired how elegantly the skirt fell all the way to the mid of her tights. The pair of black heels and the small black bag that she also had found in the closet completed the look. Elegant yet cute. She eyed herself in the mirror. She guessed she looked good. She stared at her face for a while. Somehow it seemed so out of place surrounded by the pretty curls and accompanied with the elegant dress. She bit her lip before she walked over to her bed where she had thrown the toiletry bag. She reluctantly opened it and hastily grabbed what she needed and returned to the mirror. She leaned forward to apply a light layer of foundation and draw the outlines of her eyes swiftly with the eyeliner. She drew the black mascara brush through her eyelashes and took a step back to inspect her work.

It was certainly an improvement, but it wasn't quite there yet. She returned to the bag on her bed and took out the only lip-gloss she owned. It had a hue of dark pink and she figured it'd go well with the dress. Her cheeks burned with shame as she went back to the mirror. She was quickly losing her focus.

With the make-up done she hurried to her nightstand. She pulled out the drawer and picked carefully up the big book that lied on top of everything else. Esther's grimoire.

With the book in her hand she took a look at the clock and cringed. It was five minutes past. She rushed to the stairs as fast as she could with a heavy book in her arms and a pair of heels on her feet. The stairs were trickier, and she had to take one shaky step at a time. She felt as graceful in her heels as a duck would. She was so focused on the narrow steps that she didn't first notice him sitting in the chair by the staircase.

But when she did, she stopped dead in her track.

Her eyes met his and he immediately stood. Bonnie felt the strange fluttering in her stomach return as they stared into each other's eyes. His warm brown eyes bore into her in that familiar way that she never could get used to. She felt the urge to say something or to look away, but her throat was dry and her eyes were glued to his. She was captivated by him.

She fumbled awkwardly with the heavy book that rested uncomfortably in her arms, and she saw how Elijah's focus switched to the movement. In a flash he was standing before her on the staircase, his face now only a couple of inches from hers. Her breath hitched in her throat as a tender smile grew on his lips as he studied her face up close. She felt a pair of warm hands covering hers around the book and her heart did a somersault in her chest.

"Allow me." Elijah's voice broke the silence softly and the warmth of his breath on her face made shivers run down along her spine. She slowly released her grip on the book. With the grimoire in one hand he took a few steps down and then reached out his other hand for her. Bonnie stared at it.

His eyes shone gently. "It would be an honor."

Bonnie accepted the hand dazedly and moved easily down the stairs with his hand as support. When she was finally standing on the floor, she suddenly felt very self-conscious. Even in her heels Elijah still seemed to tower over her in his elegant glory, and Bonnie found it hard to meet his eyes. She could feel his eyes on her and she cursed herself for putting that dress on. She felt so stupid for dolling up and wondered what he thought of her. She wished the ground would just swallow her whole.

She threw his face a quick glance and said hastily, "I can take the grimoire now."

Before her hand was able to close around the book he had grasped her hand. Bonnie watched vigilantly as he lifted it to his lips. When he placed a chaste kiss upon it, she could feel how the blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Your beauty could put the most aloof of monks through trial."

His eyes never left hers as he straightened himself up and let go of her hand. Bonnie's cheeks were on fire. She hastily looked away and tried desperately to find something to focus her eyes on. Her heart was racing in her chest and her whole body was jittery. She needed distraction. She needed to breathe.

_She needed to pull herself together. _

"I'm… gonna get my coat." She rushed from the room before he could say something.

* * *

"Where did you put the grimoire?" Bonnie asked and broke the silence they had shared for about ten kilometers. She had been busy toying uncomfortably with the buttons of her coat and ignoring the amused glances Elijah had been throwing her, when it had hit her that she hadn't seen it since she had asked for it in the hallway.

He kept his eyes on the road, but Bonnie noticed the smile that tugged in the corner of his lips. "It's in the backseat."

Bonnie turned around and saw the book lying on the leather seat behind her. Relief flooded through her and she tried to get a hold of the book, but the seat belt held her back. She pondered removing the seat belt when Elijah spoke.

"Surely it can wait."

Bonnie pursed her lips before she decided to oblige. "Are we going to Dover?" She asked. She had seen them pass the Mystic Falls sign in a way that very much reminded her of their road trip a few weeks back.

Elijah fully smiled. "Now, Ms. Bennett, I think you have misjudged my creativity."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Bonnie stared up at the grand building through the car window. Then she turned and stared wordlessly at Elijah. He only smiled at her. The house – no, the _castle_, was without a doubt from another era. Lavish details adorned the house in a way that very much reminded her of the pictures she had seen of Notre Dame. Ornamented fences in stone, big gothic windows and even a clock tower with a cupola roof.

She saw a middle-aged couple get out of a car in front of them and immediately a feeling of sickness rushed over her. The woman wore a beautiful evening gown of blue silk and her blonde hair was up in a complicated hairdo. The man offered his arm to the woman who smiled happily and the man threw the car keys to a young man at the entrance. The young man bowed slightly before he rushed to the car in front of them.

"A valet… _seriously_?" Bonnie said loudly, staring after the guy with wide eyes. Was this place really a castle?

Elijah chuckled beside her and took the previous car's place. Bonnie looked towards the entry and realized it wasn't just the outside and the service that was extravagant, the whole place was. She could make out expensive furniture and cut-glass chandeliers through the glass doors. Her indisposition worsened. This wasn't where she should be. This wasn't for her. This was for people like that woman in the beautiful dress that hosted sophisticated wine-tasting parties and sent her kids to private school. Not for people like her that stayed up at night reading a thousand year old spell book and fell asleep during class. She shouldn't be here.

She was going to turn around and demand Elijah to take them away from here, when the door opened beside her and made her jump. A boy not very much older than her held the door for her and smiled politely. She swiftly turned to Elijah, but he was already getting out. She cursed under her breath; there was no painless way out of this anymore. She would have to go along with this. She closed her eyes before she stepped out the car.

Elijah met her with a smile and offered her his arm. Bonnie didn't dare to refuse it in front of the valet. Elijah handed the boy the car keys and started to lead her towards the entrance. As she turned her back to the car she felt something nagging in a corner of her brain.

"Wait!" She exclaimed suddenly as it hit her. Elijah stopped and looked at her in surprise. Bonnie wriggled her arm out of his grip and hurried back towards the car as fast as she could with the heels on her feet. Everyone around stared at her while she knocked on the window to the driver's seat where the valet already sat. The boy looked at her confusedly as she opened the door to the backseat.

"I forgot something." Bonnie mumbled embarrassedly to him and picked up the grimoire. The valet looked at her oddly but smiled courteously nonetheless. Bonnie closed the door carefully and hugged the book to her chest as she made her way back through the narrow space between the cars. A car hooted at her and Bonnie's cheeks heated. She still felt the eyes of all of the staff and all of the drivers on her. She fought to keep her head high.

Elijah smiled at her amusedly when she returned. Bonnie stopped beside him, the book still clutched tightly to her chest. Elijah chuckled and took the grimoire under one arm and offered her the other. Bonnie felt a small smile bloom on her face as she accepted his arm for the second time and let him lead her inside.

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I somehow feel I should mention my tardiness with updating, but I have no idea what to say. I just get distracted easily.

But whoo! The date is in motion! What do you think? Am I terribly cheesy? Probably. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The date continues in the next chapter. Until then, stay awesome.


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter has truly been a downright bitch to write. Honestly, I don't know what was so damn hard, but those words just didn't want to be put on the paper. That's a part of many reasons why this took so long. **

**You reviewers are amazing as always. I honestly don't know how you put up with me and my lazy, procrastinating ass. ****Dark coffee dreams****… wherever you are… you rock my socks. On with the story.**

**Chapter 11**

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The room they entered sparkled in 17th century's splendor. Under her feet lied shining marble squares that were covered by a carpet so white, Bonnie was afraid to step on it. Above her towered a massive vault that was adorned with stained glass that formed flowery patterns in all colors. Only a couple of steps away from her stood a mighty pillar, and beside it another one. She noticed that the beautifully carved pillars were placed regularly along the room. From the roof hung a single grand chandelier that cast a royal glow over the luxurious furniture in the room.

Bonnie took it all in with a growing feeling of discomfort and was hardly conscious of the fact that her coat was being taken from her. She turned around in a daze and saw a strange man smile at her politely and he lowered his head slightly before he hurried away with her coat. Bonnie stared after him, her eyes now wide open and alert. Surely he did not just… bow at her?

She turned around, feeling confused and oh so out of place. She found Elijah standing on her left adjusting his cuffs coolly. He raised his head and met her eyes and immediately she saw his features soften somewhat. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when a woman ran up to them, the sound of her high heels echoing as they beat against the floor.

Bonnie just stared blankly at the woman that stopped before them businesslike, feeling slightly empty-headed. The woman brushed away a strand of hair that had escaped from her hairspreyed bouffant hairdo before she fastened her eyes at them over her pointy glasses. Bonnie thought she saw her eyes narrowing momentarily as she spotted Bonnie's bare legs, but the moment was over so quickly that Bonnie couldn't be sure. She squirmed slightly anyway.

"Do you have a reservation?" She asked curtly, impatiently tapping a pen at the chart she was holding in her hand. The woman kept her eyes solely on the lists in her hand.

"I assume it won't be a problem. Elijah Mikaelson." Elijah answered and the woman immediately ceased her tapping. She lifted her eyes from the papers in haste and eyed them both nervously. Her face paled gradually as she took them in with whole new eyes. Finally she quickly adjusted her white blouse and cleared her throat.

"O-oh. Excuse me sir, I didn't… I mean I-" The woman took a deep breath before she started over with a strained smile on her face. "Please follow me. I'll show you to a table immediately."

Just as the receptionist was about to turn around she glanced down and came to an abrupt halt. She looked in horror at the grimoire in Elijah's hands and began apologizing at once. "I'm _so_ sorry, sir. I gave them specific orders to take care of your things for you. Let me call them back immediately." The woman fumbled in her pocket after her phone. "It's _very_ unprofessional of us. I'm _terribly_ sorry."

Apprehension gushed through Bonnie as the woman finally found her phone and pressed the buttons violently. The grimoire couldn't be taken away from her. She hastily snapped the book out of Elijah's hands and held onto it tightly. The woman looked at her properly for the first time that evening, confusion and stress written in her eyes. Bonnie noticed in the corner of her eye how the hand holding the phone was shaking immensely.

"It's okay." Bonnie assured her hurriedly. "We can bring it with us."

The woman stared down at the large and dirty book, no doubt thinking about the stains it'd make on their expensive tablecloths. She looked up at Bonnie hesitantly and threw a swift glance in Elijah's direction. "I'm not really sure if-"

"Let it be, Mrs. Taylor. I have an agreement to fulfill to the lady that involves the book, I'm afraid." Elijah interrupted politely, a certain gleam shining in his eyes.

The woman obviously named Mrs. Taylor, backed down immediately and for a split second it almost looked like she was going to bow before him. "Of course Mr. Mikaelson, but please let me bring it to the table for you."

With a speed almost of a vampire the book was grabbed from Bonnie's hands and the woman turned around and hurried away. Bonnie looked up at Elijah who only smiled at her and gestured for her to follow Mrs. Taylor who was already on the other side of the room with the book swaying in her hand with an alarming pace. Bonnie only took a resolute step towards him.

"What the hell was that?" Bonnie leaned in to hiss to Elijah meanwhile she anxiously glanced down on the white carpet. She prayed her heels wouldn't leave black footprints. There was no way she would be able to pay for the cleaning.

"Excuse me?"

"She went from cold condescending bitch" The corners of his lips tipped up in an amused smile. "… to amiable hostess the moment she heard your name, not to mention you knew hers. I want to know what that was about." She ordered and stared up at him without an ounce of fear.

Elijah just smiled and put an arm around the curve of her back before carefully trying to lead her in the direction the receptionist had run of to, but Bonnie stood firm in her place with her eyes narrowed at him. Elijah raised an eyebrow, the amusement evident in his face.

"I want to know." Bonnie said and made with her tone clear that they wouldn't go anywhere before she knew.

Elijah's eyes twinkled of mirth before he sighed softly. "I may… own this place."

Bonnie didn't even blink as he once again began leading her away, this time without her stopping him. She once again looked around at the expensive furniture, the sculptures and the grand paintings. She somehow felt like she should have seen this coming. Suddenly it seemed so obvious that Elijah would own a place like this. The palatial interior, the majestic exterior, the way the building seemed to have taken the best from every century, heck, even the walls! Every fiber of the place screamed his name.

Bonnie remembered how she had thought he had looked so out of place on her porch all those weeks ago. Like he was cut out from a commercial and placed there on her shabby porch by mistake. Bonnie glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His strides were long and resolute, his head was held high but not patronizingly so, and his posture was impeccable. This was where Elijah Mikaelson belonged, Bonnie decided. This castle fit him perfectly.

But while Elijah walked with confidence, Bonnie walked with timidity. Her steps were careful, her head turned back more often than not to nervously check for smudges behind her on the carpet and… wasn't her dress too short for this place? To her, every pillar they passed towered over her, every sculpture watched her and every mirror mocked her. This was not a place where she would ever be comfortable. To her, this was hell.

They turned a corner and Bonnie caught a flash of color in the corner of her eye. She strained her neck backwards to try to see what it was. It was a painting, but it was different from all the other ones hanging around them.

She stopped and Elijah looked at her surprised. Bonnie only walked closer and stopped before the painting. She watched it carefully. It was simple but very colorful; a canal who flowed peacefully between houses with a bridge in the distance. It was uneven and out of proportion, but with its bright colors it didn't matter. It was filled with happiness and lively colors, something the medieval, chubby women with the see-through dresses around them lacked.

Elijah placed himself beside her and watched the painting as well. "Do you like art, Bonnie?" He looked genuinely interested.

Bonnie avoided his gaze embarrassedly, not really sure herself why that was. "Not really."

A silence fell over them and Bonnie was just about to turn away from the painting, when he spoke again. "It's Venice. Cannaregio, if I'm not mistaken. Lovely quarters with much history, although not all good I'm afraid. In the early 16th century the Jews in the area were forced to live in parts of the town that were in dreadful shape and enclosed by guarded gates. It stayed that way until Napoleon Bonaparte two decades later conquered the Venetian Republic and gave the Jews rights to live and move wherever they please." Elijah paused thoughtfully. "A cold-blooded man; calculating and eager to kill, but never racially prejudiced. That might just have been his only redeeming trait."

"You knew him?" Bonnie asked.

He smiled slightly. "We dined a few times. Niklaus quite enjoyed his… purposefulness and Kol liked to awake his temper by flirting with his wife. Rebekah, if I remember correctly, was too jealous of the empress' dresses to ever touch her food." He smiled fully now. "Personally, I found his company rather tedious."

Bonnie watched him smiling fondly in memory as he lost himself in it. Somehow she knew she just had been let in on a moment that up till now had been secret and, judging by Elijah's smile, sacred. She turned her eyes back to the painting and tried to picture the bloodthirsty siblings sitting around a large table in medieval clothing and acting like a family. She tried to picture Klaus smile his equally entertained and equally mocking smile as he listened to the French emperor talk about his plans to conquer Europe, now and then sending Kol amused glances where he was whispering improper things in the empress' ear. Rebekah would sit silent in her chair and glare daggers at the blushing woman; meanwhile Elijah would watch the whole thing in quiet amusement.

Bonnie frowned as a thought hit her. "What about the other one?" She searched for his name. "Finn, right?"

Bonnie was annoyed with herself that she actually cared.

The smile turned into a thin line. "I believe you've met my older brother, Bonnie. Finn had then already isolated himself from us long ago and his yearning for death had made him… unstable." Elijah tasted the word in his mouth uncertainly. "Niklaus had already daggered him four decades earlier. Their views on life had always been rather different and they had difficulty agreeing over most things."

As always, a strong wave of disgust washed over Bonnie at the mention of Klaus and she had to turn away to hide the grimace that bloomed on her face. Elijah seemed to notice it anyway and chuckled. "I assure you, it was for the best. Even if his fate was cruel and I still don't agree with Niklaus' ways, it was far better than what Kol eventually would have done."

"I thought he wanted to die."

Elijah's dark eyes bore into her and in that moment he looked so much older. "I know you don't think highly of my family, Ms. Bennett, and frankly we've never given you any reason to, but we would never wish death upon our own. Kol would never have murdered Finn." He sighed heavily before he continued. "But Kol was early on into the occult. He often travelled with witches and he was truly fascinated by their magic, especially their cleansing rituals."

Bonnie still stared at him as he paused and straightened his tie, wetting his lips as if uncertain if he should continue. He did, but with a far more cautious tone to his voice. "The times were different back then. People were highly superstitious and molded by what they heard in church. They were taught that everything different was the work of the devil and they believed it blindly. This was also the belief of witches. They saw it like their calling to hold torture sessions every full moon for all those who stood out in society. Handicapped children and people with leprosy were mostly targeted." Bonnie stared at him in horror.

"The humans rarely survived the meetings and it was as rarely the witches' intent for them to do so. Kol's idea was to bring Finn to their sessions. The witches wouldn't be able to kill him, but they would be able to… soothe his mind, as they called it. My guess is that what they had in mind would work like lobotomy, making my brother calm and… easier to handle."

A heavy silence covered them. Bonnie's mind scrambled as she tried to get her head around the horrible story. It was sick. It was twisted. Bonnie wanted to throw up.

Bonnie swallowed the horrible taste in her mouth. She needed to get the words out. "So your brother, Kol, was ready to let some witches _fuck_ with Finn's, his _own brother's_, head… wanted to make him a fucking zombie… and you tell me you _loved_ each other?"

Elijah's smile was grim. "No one of us wanted him to hate himself, Bonnie. He was constantly trying to find a way to kill himself, attempted method after method, and through it all he was still the elder brother we all had looked up to as humans. Kol believed his old self would come back if he let the witches cleanse him."

Elijah's eyes were glassy, but he didn't let his eyes let go of their hold on hers.

"We didn't let him, though and Niklaus finally daggered Finn. His hope was that Finn would return to his old self when the whole family was reunited again. Unfortunately, it was more than Finn that lost their true selves along the way and the reunion didn't become what he had hoped."

Elijah finally looked away and Bonnie felt a strange numbness take over. His words spun around in her head and echoed in her ears. The Mikaelsons did what they had to do to stick together. Their ways to do so were disturbing and downright _wrong_, but Bonnie got it. They were teenagers, barely adults, that never changed while the world around them constantly did, and all that they had left were each other. They needed each other too much to let one of them leave.

Damn it all to hell, she actually got it.

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**I'm aware that this is quite different from the rest of my chapters, but it is highly necessary. I know you people out there probably have your own versions of how the Mikaelson family history plays out, but this is mine.**

**I actually would have a lot to rant about the recent… happenings in the TVD universe but, guys; it's far too late over here for that. I needed to get this done and therefore stayed up way over my bedtime. Hopefully you liked it! See you next time!**


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